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THE 


GLOPiY  OF  CHRIST: 

ILLUSTRATED  IN  HIS  CHARAUTER  AND  HISTORY 


INCLUDING    THE 


LAST    THINGS 


OF  HIS  MEDIATORIAL  GOVERNMENT. 


BY   GARDINER  SPRING, 

'ASTOR    OF    THE    BRICK    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    IN    THE    CITV^    OF    NEW    YOHIC 

AND  AUTHOR  OF   "ATTRACTION  OF  THE  CROSS,"    "  THE  MERCY   SEAT," 

"first    things,"    etc.    ETC.    ETC. 


VOLUME    TWO. 


NEW    YORK: 
PUBLISHED    liY    M.    W.    DODD. 

BRICK  CHURCH  CHAPEL,  OPPOSITE  CITY  HALL. 

18  5  2. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  185-2, 
BV    M.     W.    DODD, 

1  iho  ("lerk"s  office  of  tho  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


ITERKOTYPED   BY   THOMAS   B.    SMITH,  ^ 

216   WILLIAM   STRKKT,    ».  Y.  '•    *■    ALVOIID.    PRINTKR, 

2&  Gold-»l^  N.  Y. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  11. 


en  AFTER  XL 

PAGE 

THE    GI.ORY    OF    CHRIST    IN    TUE    MISSION    OF   THE    HOLY    SPIRIT,      ...  1 


CHAPTER  XI L 

THE    <;L0UY    of    CHRIST    IN    THE  CHARACTER    OF    HIS    FOLLOWERS,  .        .        Jil 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

TUE    GLORY    OF    CHRIST   SPIRITUALLY    DISCERNED, 57 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Christ's  glory  the  wonder  of  angels, 78 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    GLORY    OF    CHRISt's    MILLENNIAL   REIGN    ON    EARTH, 102 

CHAPTER  XVL 

HE    GLORY    OF    CHRISTS    MILLENNIAL    EEIGN, 149 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

PRACTICAL    DEDVCTIONS    FROM    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    TUE    MILLENNIIM,    .        .181 


iv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    (JLORY    OF   CHRIST    .\S   THE    FINAL    JUlKiK, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHRIST    GLORIOUS    IN    THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    HIS    ENEMIE3, 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHRIST    HIMSELF    THE    GLORY    OF    HEAVEN, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   GLOEY   OF   CHRIST   IN   THE   MISSION   OF   THE 
HOLY   SPIRIT. 

So  far  as  it  respects  its  influence  upon  men,  the 
great  object  of  Christ's  coming  into  the  world  was 
to  elevate  them  to  moral  rectitude.  There  is  a 
higher  good  than  mere  enjoyment;  something 
more  valuable  than  the  j^ardon  of  sin,  and  deliv- 
erance from  the  wrath  and  curse  ;  else  would  there 
have  been  no  such  revealed  conditions  of  salvation, 
and  no  such  sacrifice  as  the  humiliation  of  the  Son 
of  God.  Infinite  goodness  would  make  men  ha|)py, 
but  not  at  the  expense  of  holiness ;  it  is  a  holy 
happiness  which  it  seeks  to  bestow.  In  the  final 
issues  of  his  government,  God  cannot  tolerate  an 
unholy  happiness. 

When  we  speak  of  holiness,  we  speak  of  that 
which  God  most  loves.  His  own  character  is 
"glorious  in  holiness."  Sei'aphim  and  cherubim 
cover  their  faces  with  their  wings  when  they  pros- 

VOL.  IX.  1 


2  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

trate  themselves  at  his  throne,  and  say,  one  to 
another,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts !" 
Such  a  being,  from  his  nature,  must  be  the  sup- 
port and  guardian  of  holiness  on  the  earth.  This 
world  can  give  riches,  pleasures,  honors,  dignities, 
crowns ;  but  it  cannot  give  holiness.  The  sons  and 
daughters  of  men  are  pilgrims  to  the  Holy  Land ; 
but  they  cannot  enter  it  unless  they  themselves 
are  holy.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  happy 
hereafter,  unless  it  be  a  holy  hei-eafter ;  nor  is 
there  any  crown  of  immortality  unless  it  be  "  the 
crown  of  righteousness."  They  themselves  must 
be  consecrated  temples,  sanctified  by  precious 
graces,  and  adorned  with  the  beauties  of  holiness. 
Though  formed  for  blessedness,  they  must  forever 
be  banished  from  God's  presence  if  they  remain 
defiled  with  the  pollution  of  sin.  Their  title  to 
eternal  life  was  not  only  extinguished  with  their 
innocence,  but  the  gates  of  heaven  remain  for- 
ever barred  against  them  unless  there  be  super- 
added to  the  expiation  of  the  Son  of  God,  that 
divine  arrangement  by  which  they  are  l)orn  anew 
to  a  spiritual  life,  not  of  corrujjtible,  but  of  incor- 
ruptible seed,  which  liveth  and  abideth  forever. 
Every  principle  of  the  gospel  illustrates  its  su|)reme 
and  immutable  regard  to  holiness.  The  wondrous 
and  eternal  purpose  which  originated  it;  the  doc- 
ti-ines  it  reveals,  its  promises  and  its  threatenings, 
its  institutions  and  means  of  grace,  are  all  designed 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  3 

to  purify  and  elevate  the  moral  character  of  men. 
It  would  render  them  not  merely  the  objects  of 
the  divine  compassion,  but  of  the  divine  compla- 
cency. It  would  fit  them  for  that  holy  world  where 
they  shall  be  purified  from  all  that  is  debasing, 
and  the  glorious  Eedeemer  shall  present  his  church 
uni-eprovable,  without  blemish  and  without  spot. 

Hence  the  Scriptures  speak  of  the  Dispensation 
of  the  Spirit,  of  the  Ministration  of  the  Spirit,  and 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  as  dwelling  with  men  ;  and 
of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  as  glorifying  Christ. 

We  propose  in  the  present  chapter,  in  the  first 
place,  to  speak  of  the  worh  itself  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  performs. 

The  tvorh  of  the  Spirit  itself^  in  carrying  into 
effect  the  gracious  purposes  of  the  Eedeemer  is 
not  limited  to  any  one  effect,  or  series  of  effects  in 
the  human  mind.  Besides  giving  to  the  world  the 
divine  Oracles,  and  recalling  to  the  remembrance 
of  the  inspired  penmen  the  facts  and  truths  which 
these  Oracles  contain,  it  is  his  province,  in  the  first 
place,  to  atvaken  the  attention  of  this  tbouglitless 
and  slumbering  world  to  the  truth  of  God.  There 
is  no  fact  more  discouraging  in  the  history  of  a 
preached  gospel,  than  the  utter  listlessness  with 
which  it  is  heard.  Men's  thous^hts  are  absorl^ed 
in  other  things;  "their  heart  goeth  after  their 
covetonsness  ;  the  sower  sovveth  the  word  ;"  but  the 
seed  falls  on  the  barren  rock,  and  is  choked  by  the 


4  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

cares  and  pleasures  of  the  world.  Men  will  listen 
to  a  popular  preacher,  and  be  in  admiration  of  his 
eloquence  ;  while  the  truth  he  utters  has  no  charms 
for  their  unthinking  minds.  We  are  told  that, 
"  The  Lord  opened  the  heart  of  Lydia,  that  she 
attended  to  tlic  things  which  were  spoken  of  Paul.'. 
No  sooner  is  this  listlessness  dismissed,  and  men 
begin  in  earnest  to  attend  to  GocVs  truth,  than 
there  is  reason  to  hope  that  some  salutary  impres- 
sion is  made  upon  their  minds.  This  is  the  work 
of  God's  Spirit.  It  is  he  who  unstops  the  deaf  ear, 
and  makes  a  passage  for  the  first  ray  of  heavenly 
truth  to  penetrate  the  dungeon  mind. 

It  is  his  work,  in  the  next  place,  to  convince  of 
sin.  There  is  nothing  of  which  men  know  less 
than  their  own  wickedness.  The  Saviour  says  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  "  He  shall  convince  the  world  of 
sin."  The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  always 
superadded  to  the  truth,  when  the  truth  shows  the 
sinner  his  true  character  and  condition.  When 
the  mind  is  merely  awakened  to  attend  to  the 
truths  of  God's  word,  the  effect  of  this  aAvaken- 
ing  is  ordinarily  no  more  than  to  excite  alarm,  and 
give  rise  to  some  few  self-righteous  efforts  to  escape 
the  coming  wrath.  Under  this  excitement,  men 
become  reformed  in  their  outward  conduct ;  return 
to  the  neglected  duties  of  religion,  and  indulge  the 
expectation  of  pleasing  God  by  going  aljout  to 
establish  their  own  righteousness.   They  have  very 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOL\   SPIRIT.  5 

superficial  views  of  their  own  sinfulness,  and  there- 
fore do  not  feel  their  need  of  an  interest  in  the 
atonement  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  when  the  Spirit 
of  God  sets  home  the  truth,  shows  them  "the 
plague  of  their  own  hearts ;"  makes  them  see  that 
they  are  dead  in  sin,  and  that  their  own  righteous- 
nesses are  as  filthy  rags ;  their  apprehensions  of 
the  wrath  to  come  are  painful  realities,  and  often 
too  heavy  to  be  borne.  Their  state  of  mind  is  not 
unlike  that  of  Paul,  of  which  he  says,  "  I  was  alive 
without  the  law  once  ;  but  when  the  commandment 
came,  sin  revived^  and  I  diedy  The  law  condemns 
them ;  and  they  feel  that  they  are  without  hope. 
"  The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  stick  fast  within 
them,  the  poison  whereof  drinketh  up  their  spirits." 
They  are  self-condemned,  and  all  their  false  ref- 
uges are  swept  away.  Most  of  all  do  they  feel 
condemned  for  not  repenting  and  believing  the 
gospel.  "  When  he  the  Spii'it  of  truth  is  come,  he 
shall  convince  the  ivorld  of  sin,  because  they  believe 
not  in  meT 

It  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  next  place, 
to  regenerate  the  said.  That  great  and  governing 
principle  of  human  conduct,  the  love  of  God,  which 
was  lost  at  the  fall,  is  restored  to  its  rightful  throne 
in  the  heart  only  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Give  the 
sinner  this,  and  it  changes  his  whole  character. 
Old  things  are  done  away,  and  all  things  become 
new.     He  is  brought  out  of  darkness  into  God's 


6  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

marvellous  light.  His  understanding  is  illuminat- 
ed, and  he  sees  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in 
their  reality,  their  nearness  and  beauty.  This  is 
emphatically  true  of  the  method  of  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ.  The  time  was  the  Saviour  of  men  was 
to  them  as  "  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  having  no 
form,  or  comeliness  that  they  should  desire  him." 
But  it  is  not  so  now.  He  who  "  commanded  the 
light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  into  their 
hearts,  to  give  them  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of 
his  glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  In  their  view, 
he  is  now  "  the  chief  among  ten  thousand,  and 
altogether  lovely."  They  fall  in  with  the  method 
of  redemption  by  his  cross ;  are  clothed  upon  with 
the  "  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith ;"  give 
him  all  the  glory,  and  only  desire  to  know  more 
of  him,  and  to  be  more  like  him.  They  are  "  born 
of  the  Spirit ;"  they  are  his  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works." 

8anctificatio7i  is  also  another  work  of  the  Spirit. 
It  is  he  alone  who  progressively  purifies  the  soul 
and  fits  it  for  heaven.  This  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  beautiful  offices  which  the  Spirit  of 
grace  performs,  and  in  which  he  himself  so  much 
delights.  We  read  of  "  the  love  of  the  Spirit ;" 
and  it  is  in  this  hallowed  work  that  his  love  is  so 
delightfully  made  manifest.  He  not  only  takes 
the  soul  from  its  deeply  imbedded  pollution,  and 
transforms  it  from  the  rude  rock  which  it  was  by 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  7 

nature ;  but  burnishes  it,  and  gives  it  its  diamond 
lustre,  and  makes  it  sparkle  on  the  brow  of  its 
heavenly  Prince.  All  Christians  are  "  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Whatever  means  are  neces- 
sary to  this  end,  the  providence  of  God  prepares, 
and  his  Spirit  consecrates.  That  sweet  attraction 
of  the  heart  to  heavenly  things,  by  which  the  eyes 
are  turned  away  from  beholding  vanity;  those 
delightful  aspirations  so  often  breathed  in  the 
closet,  "  O  God,  thou  art  my  God ;  early  will  I  seek 
thee ;  my  soul  thirsteth  for  thee  ;  my  flesh  longeth 
for  thee ;"  those  sacred  festivals  of  the  mind  in 
which  it  feeds  on  the  bread  which  came  down 
from  heaven,  and  where  every  pious  thought  is  in- 
vigorated, every  devout  affection  enlivened,  and 
every  hope  cheered,  are  all  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 
In  the  last  place,  it  is  the  high  and  peculiar  work 
of  the  Spirit  to  perform  the  office  of  the  Comforter. 
"If  I  go  not  away,"  says  the  Saviour,  "the  Com- 
forter will  not  come ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  v/ill  send 
him  unto  you."  Delightful  work  is  this,  and  de- 
lightfully befitting  the  lovely  nature  of  him  who 
thus  proceedeth  forth  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son !  Delightful  thought  it  is,  that  that  vivifying 
Spirit,  spoken  of  by  the  prophet,  who  directs  and 
animates  the  ministering  cherubim  in  their  attend- 
ance upon  the  throne  of  the  Most  High,  should, 
take  up  his  abode  in  the  hearts  of  his  often  de- 
jected and  sorrowing  people  on  the  earth  !     Here 


8  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

he  dwells,  like  tlie  Sliekinah  in  the  Temple,  filling 
their  hearts  with  his  light  and  love ;  creating  a  fire 
and  a  smoke  in  every  dwelling-place  on  Mount 
Zion ;  making  her  Sanctuaries  glorious  with  his 
presence,  and  like  the  cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar 
of  fire  by  night,  guiding  and  comforting  his  church 
through  the  wilderness.  It  is  because  taught  and 
encouraged  by  him,  that  the  individual  Christian, 
perplexed  and  .desponding,  harassed  by  enemies, 
agitated  by  fears,  and  chastened  by  afiiictions,  is 
so  often  heard  to  say,  "  Why  art  thou  cast  down, 
O  my  soul !  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me  ? 
Hope  thou  in  God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him  who 
is  the  health  of  my  countenance,  and  my  God !" 
It  is  because  he  is  her  refuge  and  solace,  that  the 
church  of  God,  in  her  associated  character,  when 
oj^pressed  and  disheartened,  and  passing  under 
the  cloud,  and  through  long  nights  of  darkness, 
and  trial,  has  been  buoyed  up  by  bright  expecta- 
tions, and  has  found  light  arising  in  the  midst  of 
the  darkness. 

The  four  emblems  by  which  the  Spirit  is  set 
forth  in  the  Scriptures,  are  ivatei\  the  dove^  the 
wincl^  and  fire.  Soft  and  gentle  as  the  refreshing 
showers,  meek  and  retiring  and  easily  grieved  as 
the  fluttering  dove,  balmy  as  the  breeze,  and  glow- 
ing with  heavenly  fervor  as  the  flame  on  celestial 
altars ;  this  Commissioned  Comforter  dispenses  his 
heavenly  grace,  gives  the  people  of  God  an  earnest 


MISSION  OP  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  9 

of  their  inheritance,  and  seals  them  to  the  day  of 
redemption.  The  Son  of  God  no  longer  dwells 
with  men.  He  has  gone  to  return  no  more,  until 
he  shall  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  to  judge  the 
world.  He  must  have  returned  had  not  the  Holy 
Spirit  come  in  his  place,  to  act  as  the  great  repi-e- 
sentative  of  Christ  upon  the  earth,  that  his  church 
might  not  be  with  the  present  Deity,  nor  the 
world  without  this  Witness  to  the  truth. 

Such  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  All  the 
religion  that  ever  was  in  the  Avorld,  and  that  is 
now  and  ever  will  be  in  it,  is  the  eflect  of  his 
power.  No  awakening,  no  conviction,  no  conver- 
sion, no  sanctification  and  comfort  are  genuine^ 
unless  they  are  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  There  is 
as  wide  a  diiference  between  those  awakenings  and 
misnamed  revivals  of  religion  which  are  the  result 
of  human  machinery,  and  are  got  up  by  the  meas- 
ures and  management  of  men,  and  that  well-in- 
structed, noiseless,  humble,  and  deep-toned  piety 
which  is  the  fruit  of  God's  Spirit ;  as  between  the 
rushing  tempest  which  rent  the  mountains,  and  the 
still  small  voice  which  made  the  prophet  wrap  his 
face  in  his  mantle.  The  Spirit  of  God  never  coun- 
terfeits. There  are  abortions  and  monstrous  births 
in  "  that  wdiich  is  born  of  the  flesh  ;"  that  "  which 
is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit." 

Our  next  object  is  to  show^  that  this  great  and 

divine  as'ent  is  the  Messenger  or  Jesus  Christ. 
1* 


10  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Although  the  power  of  the  Spii'it  was  enjoyed  by 
the  church  of  God  under  the  old  dispensation,  and 
cheei-ed  and  refreshed  her  pilgrimage,  and  w^as 
often  revealed  in  the  holy  land ;  yet  was  it  the 
great  promise  to  the  new  dispensation.  There 
were  early  predictions,  not  a  few,  that  looked  for- 
ward to  this  disj^ensation  of  the  Spirit  with  a 
cheered  and  cheering  vision.  Isaiah  spake  of  it  in 
the  glowing  imagery  of  "  pouring  water  upon  him 
that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground ;" 
and  often  spake  of  it  with  his  own  characteristic 
and  sublime  rapture  when  he  predicted  these  lat- 
ter days.  The  prophet  Joel  spake  of  it  in  more 
simple,  and  not  less  insti-uctive  language.  "  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  All 
classes  and  orders  and  ages  were  to  be  partakers 
of  the  blessing ;  sons  and  daughters,  old  men  and 
young  men  ;  and  "  upon  the  servants  and  hand- 
maidens in  those  days  wdll  I  pour  out  my  Spirit." 
The  New  Testament,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
repeats  and  confirms  these  promises.  Not  more 
certainly  was  the  promise  of  the  incarnate  Son 
the  great  promise  of  the  Old  Testament,  than  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit  is  the  great  promise  of  the 
New.  Before  his  death  the  Saviour  made  frequent 
mention  of  the  Spirit's  advent.  After  his  resur- 
rection, and  as  the  time  was  di-aAving  near  when 
he  was  about  to  ascend  to  his  Father,  he  renewed 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  H 

the  promise,  and  told  them  that  the  time  of  its 
accomplishment  was  near.  In  one  of  his  last  in- 
terviews with  them,  "  he  commanded  them  that 
they  should  not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait 
for  tlio  promise  of  the  Father^  which,  saith  he,  ye 
have  heard  of  me.  For  John  truly  baptized  with 
water,  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence." 

Most  gloriously  was  the  promise  fulfilled.  Ten 
days  after  our  Lord^s  ascension,  and  fifty  days 
after  that  memorable  day  of  the  Passover  when 
he  expired  on  Calvary,  and  when  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost was  fully  come ;  that  wondrous  event  took 
place  which  is  recorded  in  the  second  chapter  of 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  Holy  Ghost  de- 
scended both  in  his  miraculous  gifts  and  his  con- 
verting power  upon  the  souls  of  men.  We  would 
that  time  were  allowed  us  to  dwell  upon  the  de- 
tails of  this  narrative,  for  it  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  in  the  sacred  record.  It  was  at  the 
hour  of  prayer  in  the  temple,  on  the  morning  of 
that  memorable  day  which  commemorated  the 
giving  of  the  law  on  Sinai,  now  made  more  mem- 
orable, not  by  proclaiming  it  in  thunder,  but  by 
inscribing  it  in  the  hearts  of  men.  It  was  the  day 
consecrated  in  Jewish  history  to  the  annual  offer- 
ing of  the  first  fruits ;  now  more  emphatically  con- 
secrated by  the  first  ingathering  of  the  gospel  har- 
vest.    It  was  one  of  those  three  days  in  the  year 


12  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

on  which  all  the  Jews  were  obliged  by  their  law 
to  come  to  worship  at  Jerusalem  and  in  the  tem- 
ple :  and  well  was  it  selected,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son than  to  give  publicity  to  this  first  triumph  of 
Christian  truth,  this  successful  commencement  of 
the  "  ministration  of  the  Spirit."  Here  again,  as 
at  the  passover,  and  on  the  clay  of  the  crucifixion, 
Jews  from  Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  the  islands,  and 
all  parts  of  the  world  where  they  were  dispersed, 
were  assembled  to  become  the  witnesses  of  this 
great  fact,  subjects  of  this  divine  influence,  and  to 
bear  the  tidings  of  the  new  doctrine,  the  new  dis- 
pensation, and  the  descending  Spirit.  The  risen 
Saviour  did  not  intend  that  this  vast  multitude, 
who  had  so  lately  demanded  and  triumphed  in  his 
crucifixion,  should  depart  from  the  city  so  lately 
desecrated  by  his  blood,  till  they  had  seen  these 
new  wonders  of  his  power,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
had  washed  in  that  fountain  which  their  murder- 
ous hands  had  opened,  and  had  become  thus  quali- 
fied to  be  his  witnesses  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Wonderful  was  the  spectacle.  We  can  form  no 
just  conception  of  it  without  representing  to  our 
minds  his  expectant  disciples  assembled  "  with  one 
accord,  in  one  place,"  bowing  with  one  heart  be- 
fore the  mercy-seat,  lifting  up  their  souls  to  God, 
and  imploring  him  to  put  honor  upon  his  Son 
Jesus,  by  fulfilling  the  promise,  and  causing  the 
Holy  Ghost   to  descend.     These   holy  men   had 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  13 

been  bound  together  by  the  strongest  ties  of  love 
to  their  Master,  love  to  his  cause,  and  love  to  one 
another.  They  were  now  bound  by  welcome,  yet 
most  solemn  responsibilities  ;  for  they  had  already 
received  the  command  to  "  go  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  They 
were  about  to  separate,  with  the  view  of  ful- 
filling this  high  commission,  but  were  detained  by 
this  one  command :  "  Tarry  ye  in  Jerusalem  for 
the  promise  of  the  Father."  Burning  as  their 
hearts  did  burn  to  enter  fields  already  white  to 
the  harvest,  they  could  not  go  without  the  Holy 
Spirit.  They  needed  both  his  miraculous  and 
his  sanctifying  and  comforting  power  in  order  to 
qualify  them  for  their  work,  and  sustain  them  in 
their  fiery  trials.  And  there  they  were  in  prayer, 
expressing  their  earnest  desires,  pleading  with  God, 
with  no  dubious  and  vacillating  faith,  but  with 
humble  and  strong  and  confident  expectation,  that 
the  promise  of  their  ascended  Master  Avould  be 
fulfilled,  and  that  "God  would  glorify  his  Son 
Jesus"  by  such  wonders  of  his  power  as  this  earth 
has  never  before  beheld. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  they  were  praying, 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  be- 
gan to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit 
gave  them  utterance."  The  promise  was  ful- 
filled. The  multitude  were  held  in  ju-ofound 
admiration.     And  while  some  of  these    millions 


14  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

scoffed,  and  others  were  held  in  doubt,  these  men 
of  God,  no  longer  oppressed  by  their  own  faint- 
heartedness, and  no  longer  shutting  themselves  up 
in  seci-et  chambers  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  went  forth 
undaunted,  and  carried  the  message  of  the  great 
salvation  to  their  assembled  countrymen.  Even  in 
the  pi'esence  of  the  Sanhedrim,  who  had  but  seven 
weeks  before  put  Jesus  to  death,  and  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  scoffing  millions,  who  circulated  the 
rumor  that  his  disciples  came  and  stole  his  body 
while  the  guard  slept,  they  testified  that  Jesus 
was  the  promised  Messiah;  that  with  wicked 
hands  they  had  crucified  and  slain  him ;  that  God 
had  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  that  now  re- 
pentance and  remission  of  sins  was  preached  in  his 
name  to  all  nations. 

Tlie  consequence  was,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  was  with  the  apostles,  fell  also  on  the  mul- 
titude, so  that  under  the  preaching  of  a  single 
discourse  b}^  Peter,  three  thousand  were  converted 
in  a  day.  It  was  a  rich  day  to  the  apostles,  to  the 
infant  church,  to  the  world ;  and  a  rich  and  glori- 
ous day  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  a  new  day  in  the 
history  of  God's  grace  to  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  men.  Thus  it  was  that  Christianity  began  its 
course.  And  thus  it  continued  during  the  apostolic 
age.  Immediately  after  this,  five  thousand  more 
were  made  the  subjects  of  converting  grace.  And 
then  here  and  there,  hundreds,  until  the  gospel 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  15 

had  free  course,  and  Avas  glorified  tlirougliout  the 
Roman  empire.  It  was  "  the  ministration  of  the 
Spirit ;"  nor  will  it  cease  until  men  shall  be  blessed 
in  the  God  of  Israel,  and  all  nations  shall  call  him 
blessed. 

Our  last  and  principal  object  is  to  illustrate  the 
glory  of  Ohrist  in  this  mission  and  ivork  of  the 
Spirit  of  truth  and  grace.  This  illustration  we  can 
best  present  by  the  following  distinct  thoughts. 

In  the  first  place,  the  worh  of  the  Spirit  fur- 
nishes additional  proof  of  the  great  facts  which 
form  the  sum  and  substance  of  Christianity,  We 
have  made  this  deduction  from  premises  before 
stated ;  and  the  evidence  here  culminates  to  its 
highest  point.  We  need  not  go  beyond  this,  in 
order  to  prove  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only 
Saviour  of  men.  This  w^as  the  last  prediction 
which  he  made  while  on  the  earth ;  next  to  his 
death  and  resurrection,  it  was  the  gi'eat  prediction. 
Christ  himself  did  not  go  beyond  this,  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  faith  of  his  apostles,  and  substantiate 
his  claims  to  the  confidence  and  obedience  of  the 
world.  He  told  his  disciples  to  wait  for  the  ful- 
filment of  this  prediction ;  they  did  wait ;  and 
when  the  Spirit  came,  they  girded  on  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  and  Avent  forth.  This  was  the  only 
piece  of  their  bright  panoply  which  remained  to 
be  buckled  on;  with  this  sword  of  the  Spirit,  so 
burnished,  they  addressed  themselves  to  the  con- 


16  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

quest  of  the  world.  Tlie  Christ  had  come  whom 
their  Scriptures  foretold;  fit  the  predicted  tioie, 
from  the  predicted  seed  and  origin,  and  in  the 
predicted  place.  According  to  the  same  series 
of  prophecies,  he  was  God  and  man,  and  the  Great 
Prophet  who  came  in  the  power  of  Elias,  and  con- 
firmed his  mission  by  signs  and  miracles,  which 
demonstrated  that  God  was  with  him.v  They  had 
seen  him,  as  the  same  spirit  of  prophecy  foretold, 
poor  and  despised,  .betrayed  by  one  of  his  disciples, 
mocked  and  derided,  and  crucified  for  the  sins  of 
the  world.  They  had  seen  his  garments  divided 
and  the  soldiers  cast  lots  for  his  vesture ;  honor- 
ably buried,  risen  from  the  dead,  and  ascended 
into  heaven.  The  Holy  Ghost  had  not  yet  been 
given,  "  because  Christ  was  not  yet  glorified." 
But  now  they  saw  that  he  was  faithful  to  his 
promise,  and  sent  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter. 
This  was  the  argument  on  which  they  relied  for 
proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity.  This 
was  the  ai'gument  of  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, and  the  argument  of  Stephen  before  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim.  These  were  the  facts,  the 
most  of  which  the  Jews  denied  ;  and  vvhich,  after 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  apostles  pro- 
claimed in  their  hearing,  and  in  the  place  and 
under  circumstances,  the  very  last  to  be  selected 
by  impostors.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  they 
did  not  go  first  to  Antioeh,  nor  to  Ephesus,  nor  to 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  I7 

Rome ;  where,  from  the  superstitious  habits  of  the 
people,  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  have 
introduced  a  false  religion,  and  where  the  igno- 
rance of  the  people  of  events  in  Judea  and  Jeru- 
salem, would  have  rendered  any  detection  of  their 
fraud  impossible.  But,  in  obedience  to  the  direc- 
tion of  their  Master,  they  "  began  at  Jerusalem ;" 
in  the  very  courts  of  the  Temple,  and  in  a  presence 
the  most  appalling  in  the  world,  if  they  had  been 
impostors ;  because  these  were  the  men  who  had 
been  the  crucifiers,  and  who,  if  there  had  been 
anything  in  the  form  of  connivance  or  fraud,  not 
only  had  the  best  and  only  means  of  detecting 
the  deception,  but  who  had  a  deep  interest  in  con- 
founding the  deceivers  before  the  world.  Yet 
three  thousand  of  these  very  men,  on  the  first  pres- 
entation of  these  great  facts,  bowed  before  the 
majesty  of  truth,  and  professed  their  faith  in  that 
Saviour,  whom  but  fifty  days  before,  they  had 
nailed  to  the  accursed  tree. 

These  were  the  proofs,  also,  with  which  they 
afterward  went  to  the  Gentile  world,  to  combat  its 
philosophy,  its  idolatry,  its  wickedness ;  overturn  its 
altars,  and  subdue  it  to  the  obedience  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  And  this  completed  series  of  facts,  consti- 
tutes the  argument  in  favor  of  Christianity  at  the 
present  time.  It  is  in  few  words,  the  great  moral 
argumeiU^  arising  from  the  effects  of  Christianity  on 
the  minds  of  men.     We  have  nothing  more  to 


13  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

utter  in  its  behalf,  than  to  demonstrate  these  facts ; 
on  these,  with  the  concurrent  and  immense  inter- 
ests and  responsibilities  they  involve,  rests  our 
appeal  for  the  Saviour's  honor,  and  the  salva- 
tion of  men.  We  say  to  the  boasting  infidel,  see 
for  yourself  these  great  facts  in  the  history  of  Je- 
sus of  Nazareth,  and  then  mark  their  influence 
upon  the  character  of  men.  What  has  human 
philosophy  or  human  legislation  accomplished  in 
this  agitated  and  convulsed  world,  compared  with 
the  elevating  and  reforming  influence  of  these 
great  facts  ?  We  make  our  appeal  to  the  living- 
masters  of  the  Jewish  law,  and  ask  them  to  tell 
us  what  Judaism  is  worth,  and  what  it  is  more 
than  a  worn-out  system,  breeding  nothing  but 
obduracy  and  disappointment ;  a  rigorous,  exclu- 
sive, and  unmeaning  system,  if  it  terminate  not  in 
him  who  "  was  to  come."  Go  to  India,  to  China, 
to  Persia;  inspect  the  combined  influences  of  other 
religions,  and  all  the  influences  which  this  earth 
ever  has  known,  or  now  knows ;  and  what  have 
they  done  in  restoring  the  race  from  the  moral 
malady  to  which  sin  has  subjected  them,  and  in 
regenerating  the  world,  compared  with  those  liv- 
ing and  actuating  realities,  the  truth  and  the 
Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  second  place,  the  work  of  the  Spirit  gives 
efficacy  to  the  ivorh  already  accomplished  hy  Ohrisfs 
death  and  resurrection.     Had  the  world  been  left 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  19 

witliout  any  other  divine  agency  than  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ,  it  had  been  left  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins.  Something  more  was  necessary, 
than  that  the  Son  of  God  assume  man's  nature,  die 
on  the  cross,  rise  from  the  dead,  and  ascend  to  the 
right  hand  of  God.  Experience,  observation,  and 
the  Scriptures  instruct  us,  that  with  these  great  facts 
before  them,  men  will  not  come  to  him  that  they 
might  have  life.  They  are  not  influenced  by  these 
facts,  as  they  ought  to  be  influenced  ;  nay,  wdthout 
superadded  influences,  they  are  not  governed  by 
them  at  all,  save  in  so  far  forth  'as  they  restrain 
the  wickedness  of  the  unrenewed  heart,  and  exert 
a  moralizing  and  elevating  power  on  the  social  in- 
tercourse of  Christian  lands.  Men  everywhere, 
even  where  these  facts  are  known,  are  still  under 
the  dominion  of  a  blinded  understanding,  an  erring 
conscience,  and  a  heart  that  is  desperately  wicked. 
"This  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come  into 
the  world,  and  they  have  loved  darkness  rather 
than  light."  "  In  them,  that  is  in  their  flesh,  there 
dwelleth  no  good  thing."  They  are  thoughtless 
and  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  gospel ;  uncon- 
cerned alike  about  their  sins  and  their  salvation ; 
blinded  by  the  God  of  this  world,  bowing  in  his 
temple,  and  sacrificing  at  his  altars,  i-ather  than 
turning  from  these  dumb  idols  to  serve  the  Living 
God.  It  requires  more  than  the  mere  gospel  ofi'er, 
and  the  proclamation  of  mercy  in  the  Saviour's 


20  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

name,  to  lead  them  to  repentance,  however  urgent 
that  call,  and  aided  even  by  extraordinary  dispen- 
sations of  divine  providence.  It  is  not  the  force 
of  truth  alone,  nor  the  most  persuasive  and  cogent 
inducements,  that  awaken,  convince,  regenerate, 
sanctify,  and  comfort  the  soul,  and  fit  it  for 
heaven.  They  were  not  those  influences,  on  which 
Christ  himself  placed  his  dependence,  for  the  in- 
troduction, and  extension,  and  prevalence,  of  his 
religion  on  the  earth.  "Paul  may  i:)lant  and 
Apollos  may  water,  but  God  giveth  the  increase." 
Presumptuous  hope  I  to  look  for  the  conversion  of 
men  except  to  a  power  that  is  higher  than  human, 
and  more  effective  than  any  of  those  truths  which 
the  great  Author  of  Christianity  has  committed 
to  men,  in  the  mere  outward  ministrations  of  his 
gospel. 

Indispensable,  therefore,  was  it  to  the  success  of 
the  gospel,  and  the  saving  effects  of  Christ's  death, 
that,  in  addition  to  the  facts  which  terminate  with 
his  ascension,  there  should  be  this  great  consum- 
mation, the  descent  of  the  -Holy  Spirit.  "He 
died  for  our  sins,  and  rose  again  for  our  justifica- 
tion." Here  the  immediate  influence  of  his  great 
Propitiation  terminated.  His  priestly  office  is  a 
department  by  itself;  it  affects  the  law  and  gov 
ernment  of  God,  and  has  no  proximate  efficacy  in 
renewing  the  sinner's  heart.  This  belongs  to 
another  department  of  the  method  of  redemption. 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  £1 

and  is  reserved  for  the  Spirit  of  grace  and  truth, 
into  whose  hands  the  Father  and  the  Son  have 
committed  it,  that  he,  with  them,  might  share  the 
equal  honors  of  man's  salvation.  The  Saviour 
himself  left  the  world,  that  he  might  send  down 
his  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  with  men,  and  rear  that 
beautiful  superstructure  of  holiness,  the  founda- 
tion of  which  was  laid  in  his  Atoning  Sacrifice. 
He  would  not  have  ascended  to  the  Father  but 
for  this ;  but  would  have  remained  on  the  earth, 
and  here  established  his  kingdom  in  the  hearts  of 
men  by  his  own  mighty  power,  and  thus  estab- 
lished his  claim  to  the  office  both  of  Mediator  and 
Sanctifier.  He  did  return  to  his  Father's  throne, 
but  it  was  to  send  the  Holy  Spirit ;  not,  indeed, 
"  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  bring  in 
everlasting  righteousness,"  but  to  bear  testimony 
that  the  Son  of  God  has  accomplished  this  great 
work;  not  to  add  to  the  perfected  atonement 
which  Christ  has  made,  but  to  bear  testimony 
that  Christ  is  approved  and  accepted  in  what  he 
has  done ;  not  to  detract  from  the  work  of  Christ, 
but  to  be  heaven's  messenger,  crowning  it  with 
honor,  testifying  to  the  understanding,  the  con- 
science, and  the  heart  of  men,  that  there  is  salva- 
tion but  in  him,  and  drawing  them  to  him,  by  the 
cords  of  love.  God  is  still  upon  the  earth,  not  in 
the  person  of  the  Father,  nor  in  the  person  of  the 
Son,  but  in  the  person  of  the  Holy  Spiiit.     He  is 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 


the  appointed  and  honored  Representative  of 
Christ  in  the  world  and  in  the  church ;  taking  of 
the  things  of  Christ  and  showing  them  unto  his 
people;  subduing  their  hearts  unto  himself,  and 
extending  his  kingdom.  He  gives  efficacy  to  the 
peculiar  work  of  Christ,  by  making  it  efficacious 
on  the  hearts  of  men ;  by  driving  them  from  their 
refuges  of  lies,  and  sweeping  away  one  hiding- 
place  after  another,  till  they  are  glad  to  take 
refuge  from  the  raging  storm  of  divine  wrath,  at 
his  cross.  He  gives  efficacy  to  it  by  striving  with 
them  and  overcoming  them,  till  they  consent  to  be 
saved  by  Christ  alone ;  by  banishing  their  fears, 
and  giving  them  the  assurance  that  the  blood  of 
Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  And  need  I  say, 
that  it  is  thus  that  the  Saviour  triumphs,  and  that 
in  the  eye  of  God,  and  angels,  and  men,  he  is  glori- 
ous in  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit.  Has  he  any 
greater  glory,  than  in  thus  verifying  the  declara- 
tion, "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me  !" 

Once  more:  the  work  of  the  Spirit  alone 
enables  us  to  form  some  just  estimate  of  the  bless- 
ings wliiclh  Christ  hestows.'  Not  until  he  as- 
cended up  on  high,  did  he  sit  down  upon  his 
mediatorial  throne,  and  give  gifts  to  men.  It  was 
his  coronation  day ;  and  his  accession  to  the  king- 
dom was  marked  by  the  bounty  of  a  Prince,  such 
as  this  world  never  saw.     His  disciples  did  not  at 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  23 

first  comprehend  the  full  import  of  the  promise, 
that  he  would  seud  the  Comforter;  their  views 
were  obscure  and  indefinite.  This  one  thing  only 
did  they  comprehend,  that  it  was  some  great  bless- 
ing^ because  he  had  told  them  it  was  more  desira- 
ble even  than  his  own  blessed  presence.  It  was 
to  introduce  a  new  and  spiritual  dispensation ;  was 
to  effect  great  changes  in  them,  and  in  the  men 
who  were  their  associates ;  to  transform  the  world, 
and  to  change  the  whole  course  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment toward  fallen  men.  They  were  gifts  pur- 
chased by  his  own  precious  blood,  and  worthy  of 
the  price ;  gifts  that  would  prove  his  right  to  the 
dominion  to  which  he  was  exalted;  that  would 
abundantly  gratify  his  benevolent  heart  to  be- 
stow ;  and  in  bestowing  which  he  would  take  pos- 
session of  "the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  when 
he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame." 

What  were  these  gifts  ?  They  were  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  millions,  who,  under  the  full  sun- 
light of  a  revealed  Christianity,  ^vere  treading 
their  way  where  peace  and  hope  never  come,  and 
where  sin  and  the  curse  hold  their  uncontrollable 
dominion.  They  were  to  break  those  chains  of 
sin  and  death,  and  give  the  liberated  captives  the 
liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  They  were  to  make 
them  a  peculiar  and  holy  people;  peradventure 
the  wonder  and  the  laughing-stock  of  the  world ; 
peradventure  the  victims  of  torture  and  death; 


24:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

bat  a  holy  peoi)le,  destined  to  be  more,  and  still 
more  like  their  divine  Master,  and  at  last  received 
to  those  holy  mansions  where  sin  never  enters, 
and  where  are  imperishable  honors,  and  crowns 
of  rejoicing  for  every  sinner  that  repenteth. 

Yes,  they  were  gifts  for  men.  They  were  to 
make  his  people  ivilUng  in  the  day  of  his  power. 
Wondrous  thought,  and  still  more  wondrous 
grace — tvilUng !  Willing  to  be  what?  to  do 
what?  to  escape  what?  to  enjoy  what?  Willing 
to  be  the  friends  of  him  who  as  far  excels  all  other 
friends,  as  heaven  exceeds  earth,  and  eternity  time, 
and  God  creatures;  to  be  ]3ardoned  and  justified 
subjects;  to  be  clothed  with  the  jDure  robe  of 
his  righteousness,  comely  through  the  comeliness 
which  he  puts  upon  them,  and  luminous  through  the 
light  with  which  he  decks  them  as  with  a  garment. 
Willing  to  do  his  will,  who  governs  by  no  usurped 
authority,  and  whose  right  to  command  none  can 
deny;  whose  commands  secure  the  approbation 
of  every  conscience,  and  w^ho  has  made  abundant 
provisions  of  grace  to  help  in  the  time  of  need, 
and  strength  according  to  their  day.  Willing  to 
escape  the  burden  of  their  own  guilt,  and  their 
Maker's  curse,  the  everlasting  shame  of  wicked- 
ness, and  the  unutterable  groans  of  everlasting 
anguish  and  despair.  Willing  to  enjoy  God's 
presence  and  favor,  to  love  and  praise  him,  to  be- 
hold his  glory,  to  reflect  his  image,  and  drink  of 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  25 

those  rivers  of  pleasure  whicli  flow  at  his  right 
hand. 

Yes,  they  were  to  make  this  people  ivilling  in 
the  day  of  his  power.  Again  I  say,  wondrous 
thought  and  grace!  It  is  not  the  character  of 
men  to  be  so  blind  to  their  own  well-beinor,  as  to 
require  to  be  made  ivilling  to  enjoy  earthly  good. 
It  is  in  relation  to  higher  and  spiritual  l:)lessings 
only,  that  they  are  the  slaves  of  this  guilty  and 
miserable  infatuation.  It  is  even  so.  Their  reluc- 
tance to  be  made  truly  and  forever  happy  is  abso- 
lutely invincible  by  any  power  short  of  the  om- 
nipotent energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  in  this 
consists  the  greatness  of  the  blessings  he  imparts. 
It  is  immense  graciousness,  and  gracious  immensity 
of  blessino^. 

It  adds  not  a  little  to  this  bounty  that  this  work 
of  the  Spirit  is  perpetual.  The  day  of  Pentecost 
commenced  a  series  of  wonders,  and  was  the 
pledge  of  those  divine  influences,  which,  however 
various  in  measure,  shall  never  be  intermitted 
until  time  shall  be  no  more.  The  Saviour  has  de- 
parted ;  but  the  Comforter  will  never  depart.  He 
will  continue  to  instruct,  convince,  convert,  and 
sanctify  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men  until  the 
last  heir  of  glory  is  gathered  in.  There  is  no  sub- 
stitute for  this  influence.  It  will  be  as  continuous 
as  the  work  of  redemption.  And  though  it  will 
not  always  descend  in  unwonted  richness,  it  will 


26  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

ever  be  descending.  No  more  than  God  tbe  Crea- 
tor abandons  the  world  lie  has  made  ;  no  more  than 
God  the  Redeemer  retires  from  the  great  work  of 
making  all  things  subservient  to  the  church  of 
which  he  is  the  Head ;  will  God  the  Sanctifier  re- 
sign the  interests  of  his  sacred  office,  and  leave  it 
unoccupied,  or  in  other  hands.  It  would  be  a 
darker  day  than  this  world  has  ever  seen,  if  the 
divine  Spirit  should  ever  take  his  leave  of  men. 
Individuals  may  be  thus  abandoned  of  God ;  but 
his  church — na}^,  this  guilty  world  will  never  be 
thus  abandoned.  "As  for  me  this  is  my  covenant 
with  them,  saith  the  Lord ;  my  Spirit  that  is  upon 
thee,  and  my  words  which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth, 
shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the 
mouth  of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy 
seed's  seed,  from  henceforth  and  forever."  Just 
before  his  crucifixion,  the  Saviour  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples, "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give 
you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with 
you  FOREVER."  The  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  is 
a  perpetuated  dispensation  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Wherever  Christ's  ministers  go  in  his  name,  the 
Spirit  is  with  them.  Where  two  or  three  are  met 
together  in  his  name,  the  Spirit  is  with  them. 
Wherever  the  great  congregation  assembles  to 
worship  him,  the  Spirit  is  with  them.  If  there  be 
a  community  or  a  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
whose  condition  is  more  to  be  deplored  than  that 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  27 

of  any  otlier,  it  is  tlie  community  and  the  man  who 
is  utterly  abandoned  of  God's  Spirit.  We  hope 
never  to  see  such  a  commuui]by  or  such  a  man. 
We  believe  there  are  few  such  men.  Living  under 
the  dispensation  of  that  condescending  and  gracious 
Comforter,  whose  benignant  influences  penetrate 
all  orders  of  men,  and  hover  over  the  path  and 
the  pillow  even  of  the  most  thoughtless  and  giddy, 
we  dare  not  relinquish  the  hope  that  the  most  deaf 
may  yet  hear  the  voice  of  God,  and  the  most  be- 
nighted open  his  eyes  upon  this  great  glory  of  his 
risen  and  princely  Son. 

Beautiful  is  that  glory  which  belongs  to  the  Son 
of  God  in  his  wondrous  ministration  of  the  Spirit. 
His  name  is  written  on  myriads  of  minds  that  are 
thus  transformed  by  his  life-giving  power.  His 
voice  breaks  from  the  cloud,  when  it  descends  in 
copious  showers,  and  gives  verdure  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Zion.  It  whispers  in  the  breeze,  speaking 
not  only  to  man,  but  in  man,  and  insinuating  his 
sacred  influence  into  the  very  centre  of  his  soul. 
There  is  not  one  of  these  renovated  and  illumined 
minds  in  which  his  light  does  not  shine  brighter 
than  the  sun,  making  them  all  reflect  his  glory. 
And  when,  in  after  and  latter  days,  this  light  shall 
be  steady  and  strong,  and  the  light  of  the  moon 
shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of 
the  sun  as  the  light  of  seven  days ;  how  will  his 
glory  which  was  concealed  in  the  veil  of  man's 


28  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

nature,  and  eclipsed  in  Calvary,  break  fortli  and 
overlay  every  dwelling-place,  and  make  it  a  taber- 
nacle of  the  Most  High ;  every  temple  and  make 
it  the  "  Holy  of  Holies ;"  every  mountain  and  val- 
ley, and  deck  them  with  heavenly  beauty ;  every 
wilderness,  and  every  dark  and  subterraneous  cav- 
ern where  the  wickedness  of  man  has  been  secreted, 
and  make  them  glitter  for  that  day  in  which  he 
shall  make  up  his  jewels. 

How  obvious  is  it,  on  a  summary  review  of  these 
observations,  that  the  Holy  Sjnrit  is  the  hope  of 
the  world!  The  promise  of  the  Spirit  was  Christ's 
promise ;  and  it  was  like  him,  worthy  of  him,  and 
the  fruits  of  it  are  the  matured  fruits  of  this  Tree 
of  Life.  Ages,  and  places,  and  men  on  whom  this 
blessing  most  effectually  descends,  are  the  marked 
ages  in  the  history  of  the  church,  distinguished 
spots  on  the  face  of  our  favored  globe,  the  favored 
individuals  of  our  fallen  race.  The  Apostles  were 
scoffed  at,  until  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  ministers  of  Christ,  in  every  age,  have  spoken, 
and  now  speak  to  no  better  purpose,  until  the 
Spirit  be  poured  from  on  high.  Look  over  the 
world,  and  the  land  in  which  we  live,  and  even 
on  these  favored  churches  where  God's  power  and 
glory  have  been  seen  in  the  Sanctuary.  What 
have  they  been  when  the  Spirit  of  God  was  in  the 
midst  of  us  ?  what  have  they  been,  what  are  they 
now  that  the  Spirit  descends  so  sparingly  ?     This 


MISSION  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  29 

is  the  influence  we  want.  We  have  Bibles,  we 
have  Sabbaths,  and  sanctuaries,  and  ministers ;  our 
great  want  is  more  and  greater  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  from  on  high.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  hope 
of  the  church,  and  the  hope  of  the  world.  The 
external  machinery  of  God's  church  is  complete ; 
we  want  now  the  sacred  fire  to  set  it  in  motion. 
Nothing  but  God's  omnipotent  Spirit  can  safely 
direct  its  course,  and  give  it  the  impulse  that  shall 
carry  it  through  the  earth.  Never  will  another 
beam  of  hght  dawn,  unless  he  bids  it  shine.  Never 
more  will  there  be  an  awakened  thought,  nor  a 
pang  of  conviction,  nor  a  penitential  tear,  nor  a 
peaceful  hope  in  Christ,  nor  an  emotion  of  spiritual 
comfort  and  joy,  nor  a  successful  effort  for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  unless  he  gives 
it.     "  All  these  worketh  that  self-same  Spirit." 

Yes,  he  is  employed  in  this  holy  work  still.  He 
is  now  working  in  men  to  will  and  to  do.  And 
this  is  your  hope.  This  gracious  Reformer  and 
Comforter  meets  the  sinner  in  his  deepest  and  most 
dire  necessity.  He  gives  him  what  he  needs,  be- 
cause he  makes  him  willing  to  receive  the  great 
salvation.  He  cannot  come  to  Christ  without  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  he  can  ask,  he  can 
seek,  he  can  humbly  knock  at  the  door  of  heavenly 
grace,  and  will  not  be  sent  away  empty.  God 
gives  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him.     The 


30  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

promise  is  sure,  "  Then  shall  ye  find  me  when  ye 
search  for  me  with  your  whole  heart." 

Let  this  truth  be  appreciated.  It  is  no  easy 
task  for  the  sinner  to  resist  the  tenderness  and 
importunity  of  the  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace.  To 
all  the  dispensations  of  God's  jDrovidence,  all  the 
truths  of  his  word,  all  the  checks  of  conscience, 
the  ascended  Kedeemer  is  adding  the  appeals  of 
his  own  Spii'it.  Wait  not  for  them ;  for  they  are 
with  you.  Long  has  the  Spirit  of  God  been  striv- 
ing with  you.  From  earliest  childhood,  he  has 
been  repeating  his  invitations,  his  remonstrances, 
his  convictions.  You  have  no  such  friend.  Only 
do  not  grieve  him.  "  Beware  of  him,  and  obey  his 
voice ;  provoke  him  not,  for  the  name  of  the  Lord 
is  in  him,"  and  he  has  come  to  show  you  his  great 
glory. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   GLORY    OF     CHRIST   IN   THE    CHARACTER   OF    HIS 
FOLLOWERS. 

The  time  was  when  tlae  human  nature,  like  the 
angelic,  bore  the  impress  of  its  divine  original." 
The  perfect  production  of  the  artist  indicated  his 
excellence  and  skill.  The  stream  was  clear,  and 
discovered  the  purity  of  the  fountain.  But  man 
is  no  more  what  he  then  was.  His  "  carnal  mind  is 
enmity  against  God ;"  nor  is  it  until  he  "  puts  on 
the  new  man,  which,  after  God,  is  created  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness,"  that  he  "  shows 
forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  him  out 
of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light." 

This  is  the  high  privilege  of  all  the  followers  of 
Christ.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new 
creature."  His  highest  honor  is  to  honor  Christ. 
That  the  Son  of  God  should  be  glorious  in  him- 
self and  in  all  that  he  has  done,  is  a  thought 
that  commends  itself  to  reason,  to  conscience, 
to  piety ;  but  that  he  should  be  glorious  in  the 
character  of  his  followers,  welcome  as  the  thought 
is,  is  one  which  does  not  find  so  ready  access  to 


32  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

our  minds.  It  is  a  wondrous  manifestation  of 
the  divine  condescension,  that  a  creature  of  yes- 
terday, born  in  sin,  should  be  allowed  to  cherish 
so  lofty  a  purpose.  "  Behold  even  to  the  moon, 
and  it  shineth  not ;  yea  the  stars  are  not  pure  in 
his  sight.  How  much  less  man  that  is  a  worm, 
and  the  son  of  man  which  is  a  worm  !"  Yet 
nothing  short  of  this  fulfils  man's  spiritual  and  im- 
mortal destiny.  This  affecting  truth  bursts  upon . 
us  from  every  utterance  of  the  divine  oracle,  from 
the  progressive  developments  of  divine  providence, 
and  from  the  inward  teachings  of  the  divine  Spirit. 
It  is  among  the  perpetually-augmenting  glories  of 
Christ,  that  he  "  is  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  ad- 
mired in  all  them  that  believe."  He  is  glorious 
in  the  character  of  his  followers,  in  that  they  give 
him  the  throne,  and  cheerfully  acknowledge  his 
authority  over  them ;  in  that  their  character  is 
but  the  reflection  of  his  own ;  in  that  they  are  his 
witnesses  in  this  ungodly  world ;  and  in  that  they 
live  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  kingdom  and 
promote  his  glory.  Let  us  dwell  a  few  moments 
on  each  of  these  four  thoughts. 

Christ  is  glorious  in  the  character  of  his  follow- 
ers in  that  they  give  Mm  the  throne^  and  clieerfully 
achioivledge  his  autliority  over  them.  Every  crea- 
ture in  the  universe  needs  to  be  governed;  not 
excepting  the  "angels  who  excel  in  strength." 
Nothins:  would  be  more  unstable  than  this  world 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  33 

under  the  control  of  a  capricious  monarch,  or  un- 
der any  other  than  his  one  empire  who  is  "  Head 
over  all  things  to  his  church."  Even  under  such 
a  head,  what  faction,  sedition,  treachery,  disloyalty, 
and  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind !  The  humors  and  tempers  of  men  are  the 
sport  of  their  passions ;  the  world  is  a  scene  of 
tumult,  so  that,  instead  of  living  in  peace  and 
order,  and  by  their  subjection  doing  honor  to  the 
King  of  heaven,  every  man  is  his  own  monarch ; 
and  the^  world  we  live  in  bears  the  marks  of  deso- 
lation and  anarchy. 

It  is  in  such  a  world  that  he  who  styles  himself 
the  "  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,"  has  not  only 
set  up  his  throne,  but  subdued  unto  himself  a 
"willing  people  in  the  day  of  his  power."  By 
nature,  just  as  depraved  and  rebellious  as  other 
men,  and  just  as  much  disposed  to  complain  of  his 
laws,  they  have  learned  to  award  him  the  honors 
of  universal  empire,  and  to  take  their  proper 
places  at  his  footstool.  On  that  memorable  day ' 
in  which  he  first  made  his  spiritual  conquest  over 
them,  and  when,  as  sinful  and  guilty  rebels,  they 
first  drew  nigh  to  God  with  hopes  of  pardon,  it 
was  through  him,  as  the  exalted  Mediator,  and  by 
faith  in  the  blood  of  his  cross.  They  were  "  recon- 
ciled to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son ;"  but  it  was 
with  penitence  and  shame  for  their  former  disloy- 
alty, with  self-renunciation  and  self-abasement,  and 
2* 


34  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

with  unconditional  submission,  not  less  to  his  mir 
tliority  as  their  lawgiver,  than  to  his  mercy  as  their 
Redeemer.  These  were  the  indispensable  terms 
of  their  mutual  reconciliation.  The  very  end  of 
their  reconciliation,  was  "  that  they  might  walk  in 
his  statutes,  and  do  his  judgments  and  keep  them ;" 
their  obedience  is  the  test  of  their  reconciliation. 
True  religion  consists  in  a  renovated  character, 
controlled  by  those  high-bora  principles,  which, 
while  they  are  the  main-spring  of  spiritual  affec- 
tions and  emotions,  possess  the  vigor  and.  efficacy 
to  govern  the  life,  and  show  their  strength  only^ 
when  they  constrain  its  subjects  to  make  the  will 
of  Christ  their  joy.  His  yoke  is  easy,  and  his  bur- 
den is  light,  because  his  sceptre  is  a  right  sceptre, 
and  such  as  every  right-minded  man  loves  to  obey. 
The  very  acts  of  obedience  which  he  requires, 
are  themselves  joyous,  and  productive  of  inward 
blessedness.  If  it  costs  self-denial  to  obey,  there 
is  happiness  in  the  self-denial ;  the  love  of  Christ 
makes  the  service  delightful.  JN'or  do  his  follow- 
ers engage  in  it  unpardoned,  and  staggering  under 
the  curse ;  but  with  the  embarrassments  of  a  legal 
condemnation  thrown  off,  and  cheered  with  the 
light  of  their  Heavenly  Father's  countenance. 
Although  they  are  sanctified  but  in  part,  and  do 
not  always  find  a  heart  within  them  that  is  pliant  to 
the  authority  of  their  Master ;  yet  is  their  strength 
according  to  their  day,  and  there  is  grace  to  help 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  35 

them  in  the  time  of  need.  There  is  an  eye  above 
them  that  inspects  all  their  inward  struggles,  and 
observes  all  their  outward  conflicts ;  and  there  is  a 
voice,  too,  that  cheers  and  comforts  them.  Many 
a  time  does  their  heart  turn  away  from  the  fickle- 
ness and  imbecility  and  deception  of  earth,  to  his 
all-gracious  and  stable  throne,  and  rejoice  that 
their  divine  Lord  and  Prince  is  not  only  qualified 
to  rule,  but  to  defend  and  enrich  them.  All 
power  is  his ;  his  are  the  riches  of  the  universe. 
"Dominion  is  with  him,"  and  greatly  do  they 
rejoice. 

And  is  it  too  much  to  say,  that  those  whose  minds 
and  hearts  have  been  graciously  schooled  and  disci- 
plined into  this  conviction  and  these  sentiments,  do 
him  homage  ?  Do  they  not  speak  for  him  and  hold 
in  check  this  rebellious  world  ?  Are  they  not  the 
guardians  and  defenders  of  his  rightful  and  royal 
prerogative  ?  Is  it  not  his  honor  to  have  a  loyal 
people  in  this  world  of  anarchy  and  wickedness, 
and  one  so  full  of  dishonor  to  "  the  monarchy  of 
heaven?"  Bound  to  him  by  cords  of  love  and 
recorded  vows,  they  rally  round  this  unearthly 
fabric  of  his  power;  and  though,  like  his  exiled 
and  captive  people  of  old,  they  may  be  "men 
that  are  wondered  at,"  they  are  his  "peculiar 
people." 

Our  second  thought  is,  that  Christ  is  glorious  in 
the  character  of  his  followers,  in  that  whatever  is 


36  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

excellent  in  their  cliaracter  is  hut  the  reflection  of 
his  own.  The  moral  desolation  of  the  world  is 
fitly  represented  in  the  Scriptures,  by  the  earth 
shrouded  in  darkness.  It  is  all  gloom,  imj^erisha- 
ble  gloom.  There  is  no  sun,  no  moon.  Not  a 
star  twinkles  in  the  sky.  Not  a  light  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  habitations  of  men.  Imagine  yourself 
standing  in  the  midst  of  such  an  impervious  night  ; 
and  then  see  the  curtain  gradually  drawn  up. 
One  black  cloud  after  another  rolls  away,  discov- 
ering here  and  there  a  pale  star,  then  a  bright 
planet,  then  some  clustered  galaxy,  and  then  the 
full  moon  walking  in  her  brightness.  Yet  all  these 
bright  orbs  shine  in  borrowed  splendor,  and  do 
but  reflect  the  light  of  the  great  Central  Sun.  So 
the  light  reflected  from  the  church  of  God  on  the 
earth,  whether  from  a  single  star,  or  a  brighter 
planet,  or  from  more  faint  and  congregated  twink- 
lings of  the  milky-way,  is  the  light  of  heaven.  It 
is  not  uniform ;  "  one  star  diff*ereth  from  another 
star  in  glory ;"  yet  is  it  luminous,  and  its  bright- 
ness indicates  its  source.  If  there  be  those  who 
think  and  say  that  there  is  wonderfully  little  of 
this  resemblance  to  the  character  of  Christ  among 
men ;  while  we  confess  there  is  too  much  truth  in 
this  remark,  we  at  the  same  time  afiirm,  that  what 
there  is  of  true  religion  in  the  world,  consists  in 
this  resemblance.  We  do  not  inquire  how  strong 
or  how  faint  the  resemblance  is;  and  only  say, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  37 

that  be  it  ever  so  faint,  it  is  still  a  resemblance  to 
him.  Be  it  so  that  it  is  faint,  and  often  marked 
with  dark  shadows ;  blot  it  out,  and  the  world  is 
all  darkness,  Egyptian  darkness,  darkness  that 
may  be  felt.  Even  the  imperfect  holiness  that  is 
found  among  men,  is  a  beautiful  object;  the  most 
beautiful  under  the  sun.  We  could  hold  up  be- 
fore you  the  character  of  many  a  Christian  man 
and  woman  among  the  living,  that  would  at  once 
be  recognized  as  a  beautiful,  though  not  a  spotless 
character.  The  severest  and  most  fastidious  moral 
critic  in  the  world,  would  be  slow  to  deny  that 
the  true  church  of  God,  with  all  its  blemishes, 
possesses  a  beautiful  character.  "  Out  of  Zion,  the 
perfection  of  beauty,  God  hath  shined."  "  Thou 
wast  exceeding  leaiitiful^''  and  thy  renown  went 
forth  among  the  heathen  for  thy  beauty;  for  it 
was  perfect,  through  the  comeliness  which  the 
Lord  God  had  put  upon  thee." 

This  reflected  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  his 
followers  is  not  a  little  for  his  own  honor  and 
glory.  He  has  undertaken  the  great  work  of  re- 
deeming his  people  from  the  power  of  sin ;  and 
when  their  renewed  and  sanctified  character  is  con- 
trasted with  what  it  once  was,  who  is  there  that 
is  not  constrained  to  honor  him  for  what  he  has^ 
done,  and  m  what  he  has  done  ?  We  look  at  the 
church  of  Rome,  at  the  time  when  their  "  faith  was 
spoken  of  throughout  all  the  world,"  and  compare 


38  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

it  with  the  same  individuals  whose  nauseous  char- 
acter is  described  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  epis- 
tle to  the  Romans.  We  look  at  the  licentious, 
debased,  and  i^olluted  Corinthians,  and  then  at 
those  same  Corinthians,  "  washed  and  sanctified 
and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ;"  and 
while  we  love  and  honor  the77i  for  their  piety, 
it  is  not  the  persons  themselves  whose  character  is 
thus  transformed,  that  we  so  much  think  of,  as 
that  Lord  Jesus,  by  whose  grace  they  were  thus 
beautified,  and  wdiose  reflected  glory  they  show 
forth.  Could  we  unroll  the  catalogue  of  all  those 
holy  men  and  women,  so  many  of  whom  were  stars 
of  the  first  magnitude,  and  so  many  more  of 
whom  whose  light  was  less  resplendent,  but  not 
the  less  lovely  and  attractive ;  and  could  w^e  add 
to  these  those  untold  myriads  of  infant  minds, 
born  in  sin,  but  made  pure  and  bright  by  him  that 
"  maketh  the  seven  stars  and  Orion,  and  turneth 
the  shadow  of  death  into  the  morning ;"  and  could 
we  then  bring  before  you  the  names  of  those  now 
on  the  earth  who  were  once  as  notorious  for  their 
wickedness  as  they  now  are  more  or  less  illustrious 
for  their  piety,  we  should  furnish  some  adequate 
illustration  of  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  character 
of  his  followers.  The  moral  hemisphere  is  lighted 
up  with  these  reflections  of  his  love  and  power. 

"  Look  how  the  floor  of  heaven 
Is  thick  inlaid  with  patins  of  bright  gold ; 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  39 

There's  not  the  smallest  orb  that  thou  behold'st 
But  in  his  motion  like  an  angel  sings, 
Still  quiring  to  the  young-eyed  cherubim." 

Yet  all  this  celestial  harmony  is  but  an  echo ; 
and  these  brilliant  lights  in  the  vault  of  heaven 
shine  by  rays  from  the  Sun  of  righteousness. 

If  from  such  a  survey,  you  take  the  map  of  the  / 
world  as  it  now  is,  and  trace  those  lands  where 
the  national  character  and  government  and  laws 
and  literature  and  customs  are  formed  by  the  de- 
grading and  brutalizing  influence  of  Paganism,  the 
iron  sceptre  of  the  False  Prophet,  the  delusions  and 
tyranny  of  the  Man  of  sin,  and  those  prolonged 
triumphs  of  Oriental  philosophy  over  reason  and 
conscience  and  moral  virtue,  and  contrast  them 
with  the  civil,  social,  religious,  and  moral  condition 
of  those  favored  nations  where  Christianity  exerts 
her  appropriate  influence ;  can  it  be  difficult  to 
decide  in  which  the  Prince  of  life  is  exalted  ?  Is 
there  not  in  this  survey,  both  of  individual  and 
congregated  and  national  character,  an  intuitive 
perception  of  the  Saviour's  glory?  Does  it  not 
strike  the  eye  as  clearly  as  the  rainbow  when  it 
spans  its  arch  over  against  the  cloud  ?  What  is 
Christianity  but  Christ  revealed  ?  What  is  its  ap- 
propriate influence,  but  Christ  revealed  to  the 
mind  and  heart  ?  And  in  what  consists  its  true 
glory,  unless  it  is  in  the  fact  that  where  it  is  thus 
ascendant,  millions  of  intelligent   and   immortal 


40  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

beings,  in  the  solitude  of  their  retirement,  and  in 
the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  world ;  in  the  depres- 
sion of  their  grief  and  in  the  tranquillity  of  their 
joy ;  in  the  secrecy  and  publicity  of  their  devo- 
tions ;  in  the  rectitude,  truthfulness,  and  benignity 
of  their  deportment  toward  God  and  their  fellow- 
men  ;  manifest  his  glory,  who  is  "  the  only  begot- 
ten of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

The  most  difficult  graces  and  virtues  which  the 
disciples  of  Christ  are  called  upon  to  exercise,  are 
those  which  respect  their  relations  to  their  fellow- 
men.  Many  are  they  who  cheerfully  engage  in  acts 
of  piety  and  devotion  toward  God ;  it  costs  them 
little  to  pray,  and  praise,  and  hear  his  word.  But 
to  do  j  ustly,  and  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly ; 
to  practise  the  duties  of  kindness,  forbearance, 
meekness,  forgiveness  of  enemies,  beneficence,  self- 
control,  and  self-denial ;  to  be  just,  truthful,  dili- 
gent, honest;  these  are  the  duties  which  most 
honor  our  divine  Master.  The  Scriptures  largely 
insist  on  the  importance  of  these  relative  obliga- 
tions, in  our  intercourse  with  our  fellow-men. 
"  Though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have 
not  charity,  I  am  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling 
cymbals."  "Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before 
God  and  the  Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  widow  and 
fatherless  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world."  These  duties  are 
spoken  of  by  the  Saviour  as  the  great  evidence 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  41 

of  a  living  and  operative  faith  at  the  Last  Great 
Day.  "  In  as  much  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 
We  cannot  be  profitable  to  God,  as  we  can  be 
profitable  to  our  fellow-men.  We  cannot  serve 
him,  but  we  can  serve  them.  We  cannot  do  good 
to  him,  but  we  can  do  good  to  them.  External 
religious  rites  are  a  very  cheap  religion.  We 
may  perform  them  all,  and  yet  be  covetous  men, 
proud,  malicious,  envious,  revengeful,  and  volup- 
tuous men.  True  godliness  honors  Christ  in  the 
family,  as  well  as  the  closet ;  in  the  world,  as  well 
as  the  church ;  never  does  it  shine  in  more  attrac- 
tive beauty,  than  in  the  very  heart  of  the  world, 
and  living,  breathing,  in  the  midst  of  secular 
employments. 

The  image  of  Christ,  though  faint,  is  there ; 
it  is  Christ  in  the  soul.  Their  weakest  emo- 
tions of  love,  their  faintest  beamings  of  hope, 
their  very  lisj^ings  of  prayer  and  praise,  are 
beautiful  and  heavenly  because  they  are  so  full 
of  Christ.  Much  more  is  he  glorious  in  them 
when  they  "  come  to  excellent  ornaments,"  and 
the  rigor  and  constancy,  and  uniformity  of  their 
character  are  in  more  close  and  bright  resem- 
blance to  his  own.  There  is  nothing  in  this  inferior 
world  in  which  Christ  himself  so  much  glories, 
and  which  he  has  done  so  much  to  restore,  elevate 
and  ennoble.     He  calls  them  "  his  treasure ;"  and 


42  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

anticipates  with  joy  tlie  day  when  he  "  makes  them 
up  as  his  jewels."  None  triumph  in  their  bright 
prospects  so  much  as  he ;  and  none  but  he  could 
paint  them  in  such  glowing  imagery  as  he  has  done, 
when  he  says  to  them,  "  Arise,  shine,  for  thy  lighfc 
is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  iipon  tliee 
For  behold,  darkness  covereth  the  earth,  and  gross 
darkness  the  people  ;  but  tlie  Lord  shall  arise  vfpoii 
thee^  and  his  gloey  shall  be  seen  upon  thee.  The 
Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  tliy  rising.  The  glory  of  Lebanon 
shall  come  unto  thee,  the  fir-tree,  the  pine-tree, 
and  the  box  together,  to  beautify  the  place  of  my 
sanctuary^  and  I  will  make  the  place  of  my  feet 
GLOEious."  Nor  have  they  themselves  any  more 
devout  exultation,  than  when  they  declare,  "  I  will 
greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  my  soul  shall  be  joy- 
ful in  my  God ;  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the 
garments  of  salvation,  he  hath  covered  me  with 
the  robe  of  righteousness,  as  a  bridegroom  deck- 
eth  himself  with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adorn- 
eth  herself  with  her  jewels." 

Our  third  thought  is,  that  Christ  is  glorious  in 
the  character  of  his  followers,  in  that  they  are  his 
witnesses  in  this  ungodly  loorld.  Errors  and  sin 
have  no  need  of  witnesses ;  they  are  too  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  human  heart  to  require  testimony. 
Nor  has  there  ever  been  a  period  of  time,  since 
the  days  of  righteous  Abel  to  the  present  hour, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  43 

when  there  were  none  on  the  earth  to  bear  witness 
for  the  King  of  truth  and  grace.  They  have  often 
been  "  a  little  flock ;"  but  they  have  borne  their 
testimony,  and  like  righteous  Abel,  "  being  dead, 
they  yet  speak."  Sometimes  their  testimony  has 
gathered  strength  with  the  widening  and  rapid  cur- 
rent of  time ;  then  again  it  has  been  alternately 
accumulative  and  diminished ;  and  then,  like  the 
waters  of  the  ocean,  it  has  become  diffused  and  dis- 
pensed itself  over  the  earth  in  clouds. 

If  you  inquire  of  what  are  they  the  witnesses ;  I 
answer  of  the  truth  and  power  of  Christ  and  his 
gospel.  Many  such  witnesses  the  Saviour  has  now 
on  the  earth ;  and  though  they  may  be  of  different 
preferences,  and  polity,  and  names,  they  all  unite 
in  bearing  testimony  to  the  truth  of  Christ.  His 
church' is  a  witness-bearing  church.  They  are  wit- 
nesses to  his  being  and  character ;  to  his  deity  and 
incarnation ;  to  his  life  and  death,  to  his  resurrection 
and  ascension.  They  are  witnesses  to  the  equity  and 
binding  obligation  of  his  law,  and  to  the  hallowed 
influences  of  his  grace ;  themselves  living  epistles  of 
its  excellence  known  and  read  of  all  men.  When 
the  scoifers'  tongue  slanders  the  doctrines  of  grace 
as  conniving  at  immorality  and  wickedness,  the  Sa- 
viour can  point  to  all  his  true  followers  and  say, 
"  These  are  my  witnesses,"  who  have  been  taught 
to  deny  "  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 


44:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

evil  world."  True  Christians  are  practical  preacli- 
ers  of  the  gospel,  demonstrating  in  their  own  lives 
its  elevating  and  purifying  tendency.  They  are 
witnesses  of  its  preciousness ;  of  the  pleasures  it 
gives  above  all  the  pleasures  of  sin.  They  are 
witnesses  of  the  high  privilege  of  access  to  God 
and  sweet  communion  with  things  unseen  ;  they 
are  witnesses  of  the  equanimity  which  arises  from 
trust  in  him,  and  from  a  mind  subdued  and  regu- 
lated by  the  graces  of  the  Spirit ;  they  are  witnesses 
of  the  comfort  which  the  Saviour's  presence  im- 
parts, of  the  rest  which  he  gives  in  the  time  of 
trouble,  in  the  midst  of  this  fluctuating  and  agi- 
tated world ;  they  are  witnesses  of  clear  and  sun- 
light prospects  when  the  wilderness  is  dark,  and 
of  springs  of  joy  in  this  dry  and  thirsty  land 
where  desolated  blessings  and  blasted  hopes  so 
fearfully  mark  the  Destroyer's  path.  They  are 
witnesses  to  the  truth  of  his  promises  and  the  value 
and  preciousness  of  his  ordinances.  They  are  wit- 
nesses for  his  Bible ;  witnesses  for  his  Sabbath,  his 
Sanctuary,  his  ministers,  and  his  saints.  They  are 
chosen,  called,  and  ftiithful  witnesses.  They  are 
sw^orn  witnesses,  and  consent  before  God,  angels, 
and  men,  that  "  God  should  help  them,"  as  their  tes- 
timony is  true  or  false.  They  are  competent  wit- 
nesses, even  though  they  may  not  be  learned.  They 
are  credible,  convincing,  and  unanswerable  wit- 
nesses ;  and  where  their  testimony  is  disregarded, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  45 

tliey  are  condemning  witnesses.  They  are  witnesses 
for  the  Saviour  and  judge  of  men  against  Satan,  sin 
and  the  world.  They  are  continued  through  every 
age  of  time ;  and  just  so  far  as  they  are  his  follow- 
ers, the  testimony  he  calls  for  they  give. 

Every  true  Christian  in  the  world  is  Christ's  wit- 
ness. Whether  he  occupies  a  throne  or  a  dungeon, 
his  heart  and  his  voice  are  lifted  up  for  his  once  suf- 
fering and  now  exalted  Master.  The  poor  Negro 
who  is  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  the  frozen 
Greenlander  whose  heart  is  warmed  by  the  love  of 
God,  the  brutalized  Hottentot,  the  treacherous  Hin- 
doo, and  the  lewd  and  sanguinary  worshipper  at  the 
shrine  of  Juggernaut,  who  have  been  turned  from 
dumb  idols  to  serve  the  Living  God,  are  as  truly  wit- 
nesses for  Christ,  as  the  favored  Missionary  of  the 
Cross  who  first  bore  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy 
to  their  degraded  lands.  That  Christian  mother, 
and  that  believing  child,  bear  witness  for  him  as 
truly  as  Paul  before  Nero ;  or  Luther  at  the  diet  of 
"Worms ;  or  Calvin  by  his  Institutes ;  or  Zuiugle  on 
the  battle-field ;  or  John  Knox  in  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews ;  or  the  persecuted  Church  of  Scotland 
by  her  Solemn  League  and  Covenant ;  or  Thomas 
Chalmers  when  he  led  out  the  Church  of  Scotland 
free. 

There  have  been  noble  witnesses  for  Christ 
in  ages  of  darhness^  and  when  wickedness  tri- 
umphed, and  the  witnesses  were  clothed  in  sack- 


46  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

cloth,  and  sealed  their  testimony  with  their  blood ; 
but  that  child  of  poverty  and  prayer  who  is  over- 
heard giving  utterance  to  her  fdth  and  submission 
in  the  almshouse,  is  as  truly,  though  a  more  hum- 
ble witness  for  him,  as  the  martyr  at  the  stake 
Great  and  extraordinary  trials  and  conflicts  call 
for  great  sacrifices ;  nor  will  the  providence  and 
grace  of  God  fail  to  raise  up  witnesses  fitted  for 
such  scenes ;  yet  must  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  it 
is  amid  the  ordinary  scenes  of  Christian  life,  where 
watchfulness  and  prayer,  faith  and  patience,  and 
toil,  uncheered  except  by  heavenly  influences,  that 
the  believer's  testimony  exerts  its  appropriate  and 
powerful  and  abiding  efficacy. 

It  is  no  small  matter  to  live  and  die,  bearing 
witness  before  angels  and  men  for  Christ  and  his 
truth.  More  especially  is  the  Saviour  honored  by 
this  testimony  when  the  witnesses  are  few,  and 
dishonored  for  their  testimony.  When  wealth 
and  pride,  fashion  and  power  frown  upon  the 
Christian ;  when  to  be  allied  to  Christ  is  to  dis- 
solve the  charm  of  other  alliances  and  the  believer 
stands  alone  ;  then  it  is  that  the  exactions  of  the  gos- 
pel are  urgent,  and  a  strength  of  no  ordinary  faith 
is  called  for  in  order  to  take  up  his  cross  cheerfully. 
The  temptation  was  strong  for  the  twelve  disci- 
ples to  symbolize  with  the  impiety  of  Jerusalem 
and  Rome ;  and  it  was  this  that  gave  their  testi- 
mony  value   and    importance.      When    iniquity 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  47 

abounds,  and  error  unfolds  lier  gorgeous  and  Pro- 
tean standard,  and  those  even  from  whom  better 
things  are  expected  fall  away ;  it  is  no  feigned  re- 
gard to  the  Redeemer's  honor,  that  verifies  his 
truth.  Noble  was  the  answer  and  the  testimony, 
and  it  shall  travel  wherever  this  gospel  is  preached, 
"  Lord  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  thee  ?  thou 
hast  the  words  of  eternal  life,  and  we  know  and 
are  sure  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
Living  God."  How  many  millions  have  lived  and 
died  beaiing  this  testimony  !  That  death-hed  tes- 
timony, how  precious  it  is !  and  how  many  pallid 
lips  have  uttered  it!  and  how  have  its  frag- 
ments been  gathered  up,  and  consecrated  by 
tears ! 

When  Toplady  lay  on  his  death-bed,  he  said  to 
a  friend,  "  It  is  impossible  to  describe  how  good 
God  is  to  me.  The  comforts  and  manifestations 
of  his  love  are  so  abundant,  as  to  render  my  con- 
dition the  most  delightful  in  the  world.  He  leaves 
me  nothing  to  pray  for  but  a  continuance  of  them. 
My  prayers  are  all  converted  into  praise.  Those 
great  and  glorious  truths  which  the  Lord  in  mercy 
has  given  me  to  believe,  and  which  he  has  enabled 
me,  though  very  feebly,  to  stand  forth  in  defence 
of,  carry  me  far  above  the  things  of  time  and 
sense.  Sickness  is  no  affliction;  pain  no  curse; 
death  itself  no  dissolution.  I  am  the  happiest 
man  in  the  world.      O  how   this   soul   of  mine 


48  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

longs  to  be  gone !  Like  a  bird  imprisoned  in  its 
cage,  it  longs  to  take  its  flight.  Being  fixed  on 
the  eternal  Rock,  Christ  Jesus,  my  soul  is  filled 
with  peace  and  joy."  When  he  drew  near  his 
end,  he  said,  "  O  what  delight !  Who  can  fathom 
the  joys  of  the  third  heaven  !  The  sky  is  clear ; 
there  is  no  cloud.  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly!"*  Soon  after  this,  he  closed  his  eyes, 
and  found 

"  A  death-like  sleep, 
A  gentle  wafting  to  immortal  life." 

How  many  precious  memories  of  the  departed 
have  thus  been  preserved,  and  how  often  have 
they  been  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  everywhere 
shedding  the  fragrance  of  the  Saviour's  name ! 
And  think  you,  Christ  is  not  glorified  by  this 
great  cloud  of  witnesses,  whether  among  the  liv- 
ing or  the  dead  ?  This  testimony  is  designed  to 
honor  him,  and  does  honor  him. 

Our  last  thought  is,  that  the  followers  of  Christ 
live  to  promote  his  glory  and  advance  the  interests 
of  his  hingdom.  '"None  of  us,"  says  the  inspired 
Apostle,  "  liveth  to  himself"  Such  is  the  supreme 
and  all-absorbing  egotism  of  the  human  heart, 
that  to  do  this  is  the  most  difiicult  thing  in  the 
world.  The  great  conflict  is  between  the  flesh 
and  the  spirit,  self  and  interests  that  are  higher 

*  Life  of  Toplady,  by  London  Tract  Society. 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  49 

and  more  important.  The  conquest  is  complete 
when  sin  and  self  are  lost  and  swallowed  up  in 
God.  And  although  it  is  never  complete  in  the 
present  world,  yet  just  in  the  measure  in  which 
the  conflict  is  successfully  maintained,  is  Christ 
glorious  in  the  character  of  his  followers.  We 
confess  to  no  sympathy  with  those  moral  chemists, 
who,  by  their  subtle  analysis,  have  endeavored  to 
resolve  all  the  elements  of  goodness  into  self-love. 
Self  has  its  place  in  the  nature  and  relations  of 
all  intelligent  existences;  it  has  its  place  in  the 
divine  law,  and  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
But  the  infinite  and  ever-blessed  God  has  also  liis 
place.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  a  false  philosophy  so 
to  twist  and  mould  any  one  modification  of  true 
piety,  as  to  make  it  appear  that  its  origin  and 
ruling  motive  is  selfishness.  If  this  principle 
were  true,  it  would  break  down  all  moral  distinc- 
tions in  the  universe,  and  show  that  the  best  man 
in  the  world,  though  he  may  be  wiser,  is  radically 
no  better  than  the  worst. 

The  controlling  principle  which  governs  every 
truly  Christian  mind,  is  not  so  involved  in  abstruse- 
ness  and  intricacy  as  to  escape  consciousness  ;  nor  is 
it  so  obscure  and  doubtful  in  its  overt  actings,  as  to 
escape  observation.  The  self-sacrificing  impulse  is 
strong^  where  "  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in 
the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  faith  of  the 
gospel  "  works  by  love."    A  dead  faith  is  a  contra- 


50  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

diction ;  it  has  no  actual  existence ;  it  wants  tlie 
principle  of  life  and  activity ;  its  vitality  is  gone. 
Living  Christians  are  "  constrained"  by  the  love  of 
Christ,  henceforth  to  live,"  not  unto  themselves, 
but  to  liim  that  died  for  tlieiiiT  True  piety  has 
this  for  its  great  object ;  and  never  does  it  appear 
to  such  advantage,  and  never  so  glorify  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  when  it  holds  forth  the  beautiful 
picture  of  a  redeemed  sinner,  caring  more  for  the 
honor  of  Christ  than  his  own,  and  for  the  interest 
of  his  kingdom  than  his  own  interest.  Be  his 
errors  and  imperfections  ever  so  mournful  a  blot 
upon  the  canvass,  this  single  characteristic  stands 
out  upon  it  in  bold  relief  There  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian on  the  earth,  who  does  not  live  to  promote 
the  glory  of  the  Kedeemer,  and  advance  the  inter- 
ests of  his  kingdom.  It  is  not  his  own  ease,  or 
honor,  or  w^ealth,  or  social  relations,  or  country, 
that  he  lives  for ;  it  is  for  interests  above  and  be- 
yond all  these,  and  to  which  all  these,  even  when 
most  cherished,  are  made  subordinate.  This  is  the 
great  triumph  of  Christianity.  In  the  character 
of  such  followers,  its  author  is  able  to  show  the 
universe  some  bright  spots  in  this  dark  world. 
Much  as  he  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  and 
little  as  the  mass  of  mankind  care  for  the  salva- 
tion of  others,  and  for  the  nations  that  are  going 
down  to  death,  there  are  those  who  think  of  him, 
and  honor  him ;  who  feel  that  all  they  are,  and 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  51 

have,  and  can  perform,  belongs  to  him,  and  that  it 
is  their  earnest  expectation  and  hope,  that  he 
may  be  "  magnified  in  them,  whether  it  be  by  life 
or  by  death."  Is  he  not  glorious  in  such  as  these  ? 
May  he  not  say  concerning  them :  See,  I  have  not 
died  in  vain !  The  manger  of  Bethlehem,  the 
poverty  of  Nazareth,  the  gloom  of  Gethsemane, 
the  scorn,  the  scourge,  the  spitting,  the  cross,  the 
grief,  the  love,  were  not  in  vain.  Nor  when  I 
rose,  was  it  in  vain  that  all  power  in  heaven  and 
on  earth  was  intrusted  to  my  hands.  These  are 
they  who  were  bought  with  a  price.  To  their 
hands  I  have  committed  my  honor,  and  the  inter- 
ests of  my  kingdom  in  yonder  world.  This  is  my 
reward ;  these  are  my  triumphs,  and  they  shall  be 
multiplied  as  the  drops  of  the  morning  dew! 
Are  they  not  multiplied  ?  Are  they  not  found 
wherever  a  pure  Christianity  lives  ?  Does  not  the 
wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose  for  them?  Are 
they  not  the  friends  of  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow ;  the  founders  and  patrons  of  every  charity, 
the  teachers  of  the  ignorant,  the  i-eformers  of  the 
vicious,  and  the  Christianizers  of  every  people,  and 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  nation?  Sweet  is  the 
privilege  to  be  tlius  instrumental  in  extending  the 
knowledge  of  God's  salvation,  and  to  become  one 
of  the  lights  of  the  world !  Every  effort  to  make 
known  his  name,  is  an  effort  to  promote  his  glory ; 
it  makes  God   himself  known,  and   "makes   his 


52  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

praise  glorious."  It  brings  glory  to  him  from 
others,  arresting  the  attention  of  a  thoughtless 
world,  augmenting  the  trophies  of  his  love  and 
power,  making  new  manifestations  of  his  glorious 
character,  radiating  around  them  and  beyond 
them,  to  untold  generations.  God  himself  has 
said,  "This  people  have  I  formed  for  myself;  they 
shall  show  forth  my  praise." 

Thus  is  the  glory  of  Christ  unfolded  in  the  char- 
acter of  his  followers.  Nor  is  this  empty  specula- 
tion; but  full  of  comfort  to  the  people  of  God, 
full  of  inducements  to  holy  living,  and  full  of  re- 
buke to  ungodly  men. 

It  kfuU  of  comfort  to  thejpeople  of  God^  because 
tlieu  have  the  greatest  security  in  his  guardianship 
and  love.  "  The  Lord's  portion  is  his  people ;  Israel 
is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance."  He  has  left  them  in 
this  world  as  the  guardians  of  his  honor ;  to  their 
keeping  he  has  committed  this  sacred  deposit,  more 
valuable  than  worlds.  And  think  you  he  will  not 
keep  them^  and  be  their  Guardian  ?  We  may  rest 
satisfied  that  his  church  is  safe.  The  signs  of  the 
times  may  be  complex,  and  even  dark;  thrones 
may  totter  and  there  may  be  commotions  among 
the  people ;  but  nothing  in  heaven,  or  on  earth,  or 
in  hell,  shall  ever  divert  the  love  of  Christ  from  his 
people.  His  unchanging  faithfulness  is  the  guar- 
anty that  light  and  darkness,  good  and  evil,  joy 
and  sorrow,  friends  and  foes  shall  Avork  together 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  53 

for  their  benefit.  "  Surely  there  is  no  divination 
against  Jacob,  and  no  enchantment  against  Israel." 
There  is  nothing  he  regards  with  such  a  watchful 
eye,  or  such  a  loving  heart.  What  God  said  to 
ancient  Israel,  he  says  to  his  church  now,  and  in 
these  ends  of  the  earth :  "  Now  therefore,  if  ye 
will  obey  my  voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  covenant, 
then  ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me  above 
all  people ;  for  all  the  earth  is  mine,  and  ye  shall 
be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  a  holy  nation." 
He  stands  forth  their  Protector.  "  He  that  touch- 
eth  them,  toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye."  His 
church  is  more  beautiful  and  lovely  in  his  eyes 
than  in  ours ;  and  he  will  be  its  friend  because  it 
is  the  only  living  exhibition  on  the  earth  of  his  ami- 
able and  glorious  character.  "  Not  for  their  sakes 
will  he  do  this,  but  for  his  own  great  name's  sake." 
He  has  too  many  important  purposes  to  accomplish, 
by  their  character  and  agency,  ever  to  intermit 
either  his  care,  or  his  love,  or  to  fail  in  the  prom- 
ise, "  I  will  make  thee  an  eternal  excellency,  the 
joy  of  many  generations." 

The  thoughts  which  have  been  expressed,  are 
aho  full  of  inducements  to  holy  living.  We  know 
of  none  stronger,  or  more  constraining.  "  Herein 
is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fndt^^ 
For  what  has  his  spiritual  vineyard  a  place  in  this 
desert  world ;  for  what  has  he  built  a  hedge  about 
it,  and  encircled  with  his  omnipotent  protection, 


54  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  nurtured  it  by  the  prayers,  and  tears,  and  blood 
of  liis  Son ;  but  to  bring  forth  fruit  ?  From  time 
to  time,  he  visits  it  to  "  see  if  the  vine  flourish  and 
the  tender  grape  appear,  and  the  pomegranates 
bud  forth."  If  his  church  would  welcome  the 
visits  of  his  love,  she  should  welcome  these  visits 
of  inspection.  Her  prayer  should  be,  "  Awake,  O 
north  wind,  and  come  thou,  south ;  blow  upon  my 
garden  that  the  spices  thereof  may  flow  out !  Let 
ray  beloved  come  into  his  garden,  and  eat  his 
pleasant  fruits  !"  It  is  not  enough  to  be  professors 
of  the  Christian  faith,  and  maintain  the  forms  of 
Christian  consecration  and  worship ;  the  pride  and 
self-delusion  of  the  human  heart  often  assume  this 
disguise.  Outward  decency  may  not  be  the  "  fruit 
of  the  Spirit."  It  is  a  melancholy  indication  when 
men  refuse  to  avow  relation  to  Christ,  and  are 
ashamed  of  his  truth  and  institutions;  but  this 
avowal  is  not  necessarily  Christian,  nor  may  its 
object  be  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour. 
If  we  would  honor  Christ,  we  must  possess  his 
Spirit,  and  sympathize  with  him  in  the  great  ob- 
jects he  came  into  the  world  to  accomplish.  We 
must  exemplify  his  Spirit  in  the  more  arduous  and 
self-denying  duties,  by  bearing  his  cross  and  never 
becoming  weary  in  his  service.  We  should  take 
heed  lest  we  dishonor  him,  and  furnish  a  keen- 
eyed  and  fault-finding  world  some  plausible  pre- 
text for  saying,  "  What  do  ye  more  than  others  ?" 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  IN  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  55 

O  give  no  ground  for  this.  Be  consistent ;  be  cir- 
cumspect. Do  not  wound  the  Saviour  "in  the 
house  of  his  friends."  Do  not  betray  the  trust  he 
has  committed  to  you,  but  preserve  his  glory  un- 
tarnished. It  is  a  glorious  trust.  "Wherefore 
also  we  pray  for  you  that  our  God  would  account 
you  worthy  of  this  calling,  and  fulfil  all  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  the  work  of  faith 
with  power;  that  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  may  be  glorified  in  you,  according  to  the 
grace  of  our  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  thoughts  which  have  been  suggested  are 
also  full  of  rebuke  to  ungodly  men.  There  are  no 
indications  of  the  Eedeemer's  glory  in  their  char- 
acter. They  neither  acknowledge  him  to  be  their 
Lord  and  King ;  nor  is  their  odious  sinfulness  any 
reflection  of  his  unblotted  purity ;  nor  are  they  his 
witnesses  in  the  world  ;  nor  do  they  live  to  advance 
the  interests  of  his  kingdom  and  promote  his  glory. 
It  is  another  Master  they  serve ;  another  model 
they  imitate ;  another  cause  in  behalf  of  which  they 
appear  as  witnesses,  and  other  interests  than  his 
which  they  live  to  promote.  They  bear  no  fruit 
to  his  praise ;  and  but  for  his  overruling  providence, 
would  be  cumberers  of  his  ground,  and  but  for  his 
forbearance  and  long-suffering,  would  be  cut  down. 
"  Hear  ye,  and  give  ear;  be  not  proud;  for  the 
,  Lord  hath  spoken.  Give  glory  to  the  Lord  your 
God  before  he  cause  darkness,  and  before  your 


56  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

feet  stumble  upon  the  dark  mountain,  and  while 
ye  look  for  light,  he  turn  it  into  the  shadow  of 
death,  and  make  it  gross  darkness.  But  if  ye  will 
not  hear,  my  soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places  for 
your  pride,  and  mine  eye  shall  run  down  with 
tears."  It  is  wonderful  that  God  spares  "the 
proud  and  them  that  do  wickedly"  so  long.  It  is 
a  perfectly  proper  thing  that  after  he  has  waited 
upon  them  a  suitable  time  he  should  cut  them 
down.  "  Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good 
fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into  the  fire."  We  say 
frankly  to  all  the  ungodly,  it  must  come  to  this 
unless  you  turn  from  your  evil  way,  and  live  and 
die  to  him  whose  glory  is  man's  chief  end  and  joy. 
The  day  of  his  scorning  is  not  gone  by ;  for  men 
still  hide  their  faces  from  him,  and  it  is  the  day 
of  his  reproaches.  Yet,  with  all  the  contumely 
that  you  are  heaping  upon  him,  his  eye  now  beams 
upon  you  the  radiance  of  compassion  and  love. 
Woe  to  the  man  who  discourages,  and  exhausts, 
and  crushes  those  heavenly  sympathies !  The  day 
is  coming  when  the  defamed  Jesus  will  vindicate 
his  insulted  honor ;  when  he  will  avenge  the  wrong 
that  has  been  done  to  him ;  and  the  man  who  now 
hates  and  slanders  him,  will  find  that  he  has  not 
a  friend  in  the  universe,  and  that  heaven  and  earth 
"  shall  clap  their  hands  at  him,  and  hiss  him  out 
of  his  place." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  GLOEY  OF  CUEIST  SPIEITUALLT  DISCEENED. 

It  is  recorded  of  tlie  two  disciples,  in  their  in- 
structive and  animating  interview  with  their  di- 
vine Master  on  their  way  to  Emmaus,  that  "  their 
eyes  were  holdeu  so  that  they  did  not  know  him." 
The  Sim  of  righteousness  may  shine  around  us  in 
the  fuhiess  of  his  glory ;  but  if  our  eyes  are  closed, 
it  matters  not  to  us  whether  he  be  risen,  or  cov- 
ered with  a  cloud.  It  is  one  thing  for  him  to  pos- 
sess these  unutterable  glories,  and  another  for  men 
to  behold  them. 

At  his  first  advent,  "  the  light  shone  upon  the 
darkness,  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not." 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  those  who  have 
strong  convictions  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel  and 
some  hopes  of  the  divine  favor,  to  complain  of 
the  obscurity  of  their  views  of  Jesus  Christ.  They 
are  not  without  some  just  impressions  of  their  need 
of  him ;  nor  without  occasional  glimpses  of  his  fit- 
ness, excellence,  and  beauty;  nor  do  they  doubt 
3* 


58  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

his  fulness  and  all-sufficiency ;  yet  tlie  great  defect 
in  their  religious  experience,  and  as  they  them- 
selves judge,  the  dark  spot  in  their  character  con- 
sists in  their  defective  views  of  Christ. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  who  think 
much  and  speak  much  of  him,  and  seem  to  make 
much  of  him  in  their  hopes,  who  do  not  furnish 
the  best  evidence  in  the  world  that  they  partake 
of  his  spirit.  They  profess  to  enjoy  delightful,  and 
even  ravishing  views  of  him ;  yet  you  cannot  helj) 
feeling  that  their  Christianity  is  questionable.  It 
has  an  Antinomiau  cast ;  nor  do  they  appear  to 
have  a  sufficiently  deep  impression  of  the  truth 
that  "  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature." 

Yet  the  important  fact  may  never  be  forgotten 
nor  obscured,  that  personal,  experimental,  practi- 
cal godliness  has  much  to  do  with  Christ.  His 
character  and  work  and  glory  not  more  certainly 
form  the  great  and  prominent  subjects  of  a  super- 
natural revelation,  than  believing  and  sanctified 
views  of  him  form  the  inward  source  and  spring  of 
devout  affections  and  holy  sensibilities  of  soul.  All 
true  believers  are  "  complete  in  him."  From  "  his 
fulness  have  they  all  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 
He  "  of  God  is  made  to  them  wasdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  redemption."  He  is  the 
fountain  of  their  spiritual  life,  the  ground  of  their 
hopes,  the  solace,  the  joy  of  their  hearts,  and  their 
everlasting  portion. 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      59 

It  is  of  no  ordinary  importance,  therefore,  tliat 
we  make  a  scriptural  presentation  of  those  mews 
of  the  glory  of  Christ  that  are  peculiar  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God.  There  were  those  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh  who  "  beheld  his  glory  ;"  there  are  those  who 
behold  it  now,  and  whose  views  differ  from  those 
which  "  see  in  him  no  form,  nor  comeliness."  We 
shall  confine  our  remarks  to  the  following  charac- 
teristics of  those  views  of  the  adorable  Saviour 
which  are  enjoyed  only  by  his  own  people. 

The  first  of  these  characteristics  is,  that  they 
are  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  The  apostle  Paul  rep- 
resents unrenewed  men  as  "having  their  under- 
standing darhened^  being  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  be- 
cause of  the  hlindness  of  their  heart.  This  blind- 
ness is  nowhere  more  obvious  than  in  their  igno- 
rance of  Christ.  Their  views  of  him  are  obscure 
and  confused.  They  are  perverted  views,  and 
such  as  dishonor  him ;  they  are  false  views,  and 
sometimes  no'  views  at  all.  Not  a  few  persons  of 
this  description  do  not  possess  even  a  gleam  of 
intellectual  light  when  they  hear  or  read  of  him 
who  "  is  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  Person." 

Of  true  Christians  the  Scriptures  speak  in  very 
different  language.  "Ye  were  once  darkness;  but 
now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord ;" — "  We  all,  with  un- 
veiled face,  behold  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the 


60  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Lord  ;" — "  Ye  are  a  peculiar  people,  that  ye  should 
show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you 
out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light." 

We  say,  therefore,  that  the  peculiar  views  which 
Christians  have  of  Christ  are  produced  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  "  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  their  hearts 
to  give  them  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  his 
glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  not  the 
work  of  man,  nor  of  means,  nor  of  the  unillumined 
intellect  in  its  deepest  researches,  or  its  loftiest 
flights.  When  the  Apostle  Peter,  with  his  charac- 
teristic boldness,  made  that  memorable  declara- 
tion, "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,"  the  Saviour  said  to  him,  "Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar-jona ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  re- 
vealed it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  who  is  in 
heaven."  In  speaking  of  the  appropriate  work 
of  the  Spirit,  the  Saviour  remarks,  "  He  shall  take 
of  mine  and  show  it  unto  you ;"  and  he  elsewhere 
speaks  of  "  manifesting  himself  to  his  disciples  as 
he  does  not  unto  the  world." 

As  a  consequence  of  this  general  and  leading 
truth,  we  remark,  in  the  next  place,  that  the  views 
which  all  true  Christians  enjoy  of  their  divine 
Lord  are  spiritual  views,  in  distinction  from  those 
which  are  purely  intellectual.  In  the  act  of  crea- 
ting them  anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  Spirit  of  God 
creates  within  them  "a  new  heart  and  a   new 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      61 

spirit ;"  he  "  sheds  abroad  the  love  of  God  in  the 
heart,"  which  of  itself  lays  the  foundation  for  new 
discernment,  new  sensibilities,  and,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  a  new  spiritual  taste.  We  see  not  why  the 
metaphysical  writers  of  a  very  intelligent  class 
should  have  made  so  fierce  a  warfare  upon  what 
we  mean  by  spiritual  taste.  It  is  a  common-sense 
view  of  the  subject  when  we  speak  of  a  spiritual 
taste  in  men,  and  a  natural  taste.  Just  as  there 
is  in  some  minds  a  peculiar  sensitiveness  to  the 
beauty  of  colors,  or  to  the  melody  and  harmony 
of  sound,  or  to  the  beauty  of  proportions;  so  is 
there  in  every  truly  regenerated  mind  a  moral  or 
spiritual  sensitiveness,  a  ready  perception  of  the 
deformity  of  sin,  the  beauty  of  holiness,  the  excel- 
lence of  the  divine  character,  and  the  glory  of 
Christ,  There  is  a  taste  and  relish  for  divine 
truth,  and  for  the  duties  and  enjoyments  of  piety. 
There  is  no  more  certain  criterion  by  which  true 
grace  may  be  distinguished  from  all  counterfeits 
than  this.  The  renewed  mind  receives  pleasure 
from  the  contemplation  of  divine  objects  ;  nor  can 
you  touch  a  string  within  the  whole  circle  of  di- 
vine truth,  but  such  a  mind,  if  well  instructed,  re- 
sponds to  it.  It  is  far  otherwise  with  the  unre- 
newed heart.  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not 
the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  they  are  fool- 
ishness unto  him;  neither  can  he  show  them,  be- 
cause  they  are   spiritually  discerned^     Spiritual 


62  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

minds  are  deeply  interested  in  Christ's  instructions ; 
they  have  exalted  and  delightful  views  of  his  Per- 
son and  work  and  ineffable  glory.  Their  views 
of  him  are  above  and  beyond  all  mere  intellectual 
views,  however  just  those"  intellectual  views  may 
be.  All  spiritual  views  of  him  are  scriptural^  but 
all  scriptural  views  of  him  are  not  necessarily 
spiritual.  Judas  Iscariot  may  have  had  scriptural 
views  of  him.  We  are  told  that  "  the  devils  be- 
lieve and  tremble ;"  they  may,  and  doubtless  do 
possess  views  of  Christ's  Person  and  work  that 
are  accordant  with  truth :  and  wicked  men  may 
be  well  instructed  in  all  those  doctrines  of  the 
gospel  which  relate  to  the  Son  of  God.  Yet  none 
of  these  ever  truly  beheld  his  glory. 

Yet  while  we  say  these  things,  it  is  not  unim- 
portant to  remark  that  the  best  and  most  orthodox 
intellectual  views  of  Christ  are  very  apt  to  be  in- 
tellectually defective.  There  may  be  just  views 
of  his  natural  perfections  as  he  unfolds  them  in  the 
works  of  creation  and  providence  ;  while  not  a  few 
who  live  under  the  broad  daylight  of  the  gospel 
have  no  just  conceptions  of  the  glory  of  his  moral 
nature.  This  thought  suggests  the  true  and  dis- 
criminating nature  of  spiritual  in  distinction  from 
mere  intellectual  views.  It  requires  rectitude  to 
perceive  rectitude,  goodness  to  perceive  goodness, 
love  to  perceive  and  form  a  true  estimate  of  love, 
just  as  it  requires  thought  to  perceive  thought, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      63 

and  genius  to  perceive  and  ai:)preciate  genius,  and 
nobleness  and  generosity  to  perceive  and  appre- 
ciate them  in  others.  It  is  one  thing  to  possess 
the  intellectual  conviction  that  Jesus  Christ  died 
for  our  sins  and  rose  again  according  to  the  scrip- 
tures, and  another  to  perceive  the  excellence  of 
his  Person  and  work.  Those  there  are  who  do  not 
call  in  question  the  instructions  of  the  gospel  con- 
cerning him,  whose  views  of  him  are  limited  to 
the  bare  letter  of  these  instructions  without  any- 
right  feeling  or  corresponding  emotions. 

When  we  speak  of  spiritual^  in  distinction  from 
intellectual  views  of  Christ,  we  are  aware  that  we 
use  language  that  is  capable  of  perversion.  The 
words  spirituality^  spiritual^  and  spiritualize^  are 
some  of  these  compendious  words,  which,  if  we  • 
do  not  regard  their  true  import,  may  conduct 
minds  not  a  few,  to  the  mysticisms  of  piety,  rather 
than  to  its  intelligible  reality.  Mysticism  is  ob- 
scurity. It  is  a  sublimated,  rather  than  a  sublime 
religion,  and  flows  from  a  supposed  and  direct  in- 
tercourse with  the  divine  Spirit,  ivithout  the  inter- 
vention of  GocVs  truth.  The  puerile  illusions 
and  collusions  of  modern  spiritualists,  are  scarcely 
more  absurd  than  the  mysticism  of  the  fourth  and 
twelfth  centuries.  The  Spirit  of  God  alivays  acts 
upon  the  mind  through  the  Qnedium  of  truth. 
Truth  is  one^  whether  revealed  in  the  works  and 
providence  of  God,  unfolded  in  the  Scriptures,  or 


64  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

brought  to  the  view  of  the  mind  by  that  divine 
Agent,  whose  office  it  is  to  take  of  the  things  of 
Christ,  and  show  them  to  men.  Spiritual  views 
of  Christ  are  sober  and  veritable  views.  They 
are  not  high-wrought  sentimentalism.  They  are 
not  poetry ;  nor  are  they  the  effect  of  mere  men- 
tal abstraction.  They  are  not  the  fancies  of  the 
cloister ;  nor  are  they  produced  by  dreams,  and 
visions,  and  supernatural  audible  voices.  Nor  are 
they  the  effect  of  any  extraordinary  light  to  the 
outward  eye ;  nor  do  they  consist  of  those  percep- 
tions that  are  caused  by  an  excited  and  fertile 
imagination,  painting  the  Saviour  as  suspended  on 
the  cross,  and  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  indescriba- 
ble glory.  Nor  let  the  remark  be  deemed  too 
trivial,  when  we  say  that  they  are  never  steeped 
and  drugged  into  the  soul  by  subtle  opiates  and 
alcoholic  poisons,  stealing  upon  the  nerves  and 
senses,  and  superinducing  that  dreamy  and  exqui- 
site sensibility,  which,  by  weak  minds,  is  so  often 
mistaken  for  the  fervors  of  piety.  Nor  is  it  any 
evidence  that  they  are  spiritual  views,  that  they 
were  obtained  in  some  extraordinary  and  unac- 
countable way,  and  have  been  deeply  affecting. 
It  is  true  that  the  "  wind  bloweth  where  it  list- 
eth  ;"  the  Spirit  of  God  may  sometimes  come  over 
the  soul  amid  the  night-watches ;  amid  hours  of 
solemn  thought,  and  through  altogether  unwonted 
agencies ;  but  when  he  does  so,  it  is  always  in  the 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      65 

oversh  ado  wings  of  trutli.  All  other  views  are 
imaginary  or  false,  and  are  not  w^ortliy  of  confi- 
dence. They  are  a  sort  of  religious  transcenden- 
talism, w^hich  a  believing  mind  looks  upon  with 
suspicion  and  rejects.  The  great  facts  of  the 
Bible  form  the  basis  on  which  a  mind  enlightened 
by  God's  Spirit  rests  its  confidence.  Spiritual 
views  are  "  full  of  truth ;"  God's  truth  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  them  all. 

Another  characteristic  of  those  views  of  Christ 
which  are  peculiar  to  the  Christian  mind  is,  that 
tJiey  are  not  selfish  meius.  Self  is  not  dissevered 
from  them,  but  they  are  not  mainly  excited  or 
sustained  by  selfish  considerations.  They  are 
views  of  a  grateful,  but  not  a  selfish  mind.  They 
do  not  flow  from  regarding  him  merely  as  our 
benefactor ;  but  from  loving  him  as  he  is,  and  for 
his  own  sake.  True  love  and  gratitude  are  easily 
distinguished  ;  while  as  exercised  toward  Christ  by 
every  truly  Christian  mind,  they  are  never  sep- 
arated. A  good  man  may  receive  benefit  from 
one  w^hose  character  he  condemns;  and  a  bad 
man  may  receive  benefit  from  one  in  whose  char- 
acter he  takes  no  complacency ;  wdiile  both  may 
be  grateful  for  the  benefit  and  have  no  love  for 
the  character.  Where  the  character  deserves 
complacency  and  confidence,  and  the  benefits 
bestowed  demand  gratitude;  the  complacency 
strengthens  the  gratitude,  and  the  gratitude  the 


66  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

complacency.  The  character  of  Christ  and  his 
love  towards  his  people,  give  him  the  highest 
claim  both  upon  the  complacent  and  grateful  ad- 
miration of  his  glory ;  nor  need  they  be  separated. 
But  what  if  my  iw2)i'essio'ns  of  my  own  per- 
sonal interest  in  Christ  are  delusive,  and  my  hope 
in  his  mercy  no  better  than  the  hypocrite's  hope  ? 
Such  a  persuasion  obviously  has  not  anything 
gracious  in  its  nature.  Remove  this  delusion,  and 
such  a  mind  would  see  no  beauty  in  the  Son  of 
God.  Those  views  of  his  glory  which  are  im- 
parted by  the  Holy  Spirit,  consist  of  enlarged  and 
gratified  concej^tions  of  his  own  intrinsic  loveli- 
ness. If  my  impressions  of  my  own  personal  in- 
terest in  him  are  such  as  are  founded  in  truth ; 
are  they  not  rather  the  result  of  my  spiritual 
views  of  him,  than  these  views  themselves  ?  They 
are  views  of  him^  and  not  of  my  own  hopes  that 
are  so  transporting.  These  views  of  him  produce 
a  calm  and  peaceful  state  of  mind ;  nay,  they  are 
often  associated  with  hope's  full  assurance,  and 
because  they  furnish  the  scriptural  evidence  that 
those  who  enjoy  them  are  personally  interested  in 
his  redemption.  But  they  are  not  selfish  views ; 
nor  do  they  forsake  the  soul  even  in  her  most 
desponding  hours.  There  are  those  who  have 
very  languid  hopes  for  themselves,  who  have  at 
the  same  time  views  of  Christ  that  are  truly  spir- 
itual.    They  have  the  assurance  of  faith  without 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      67 

the  assurance  of  hope.  Through  the  power  of 
temptation,  or  from  a  suspicious  and  gloomy  tem- 
perament, or  from  bodily  infirmity,  they  may  be 
driven  to  the  borders  of  despair ;  yet  their  souls 
pant  after  Christ,  and  they  are  resolved  to  seek 
him,  though  they  die  at  his  feet. 

Then  again,  there  are  those  whose  views  of  the 
Saviour  are  so  clear  and  transporting,  that  they 
do  not  stop  to  think  of  themselves.  The  manifes- 
tations of  his  glory  are  so  resplendent  and  so  ab- 
sorbing, that  they  are  raised  above  all  thoughts 
of  their  own  spiritual  state.  Such  views  are  not 
selfish.  The  sweetest,  purest,  and  most  spiritual 
joys  ever  experienced  by  the  people  of  God,  arise 
ft'om  their  objective  views  of  Christ.  Self  is  lost 
sight  of.  Christ  is  the  object  they  are  contempla- 
ting; nor  can  they,  in  such  a  state  of  mind,  con- 
sent to  Avithdraw  their  thoughts  from  him.  His 
loveliness  and  glory  are  then  realized,  and  make 
corresponding  impressions  on  the  heart.  There  is 
that  heartfelt  sense  of  his  excellence  and  beauty, 
imparted  by  that  grace  which  the  world  knows 
not  of 

Another  characteristic  of  these  views  is  the  ^:>(?r- 
fect  assurance  they  produce  of  the  reality  and  ex- 
cellence of  the  tilings  that  are  thus  discovered  to  the 
soul.  They  put  to  flight  all  doubts  of  the  truth 
of  God's  w^ord,  and  of  the  method  of  salvation 
there  revealed.     The  Christian  who  enjoys  them 


68  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

no  morQ  doubts  than  Peter  did,  wlien  lie  exclaimed, 
"  We  know  and  are  sure  that  thou  art  that  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  Living  God."  He  no  more  doubts 
than  he  doubts  his  senses.  He  has  the  evidence  of 
experience ;  it  is  experimental  knowledge ;  he  has 
"  tasted  and  seen  that  the  Lord  is  good."  This,  to 
him,  is  more  than  all  other  evidence.  It  is  no 
theory  ;  it  is  matter  of  fact.  He  never  forgets  it; 
many  a  time,  in  subsequent  seasons  of  darkness 
does  he  recur  to  it  in  order  to  eradicate  his  unbe- 
lieving fears  and  repel  the  suggestions  of  the  adver- 
sary. There  is  something  unutterably  delightful  in 
such  views  of  God  and  his  Christ,  were  it  for  nothing 
more  than  the  assurance,  and  perfect  rej)Ose  they 
produce  in  the  reality  of  the  things  thus  seen. 
Babes  in  Christ  may  have  these  intelligent  teach- 
ings, and  this  assurance  that  they  are  taught. 
They  may  have  no  other  evidence  within  their 
reach,  but  this  satisfies  them.  They  have  found 
the  truth  of  Christ  to  be  what  it  professes  to  be ; 
it  speaks  to  them  as  nothing  else  speaks.  Mere 
speculative  knowledge  cannot  produce  this  im- 
pression. It  is  something  written  on  the  "flesh- 
ly tables  of  the  heart."  It  is  unwrought;  it  is 
"  truth  in  the  inward  parts,"  and  is  as  much  a 
reality  as  their  own  thoughts  and  affections.  It 
is  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  the  heart.  Good  men 
glory  in  it  as  Paul  did  when  he  "  gloried  in  the 
cross."      The  Person  and  grace  of  Christ  shine 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.       09 

with  such  a  divine  glory,  that  they  seek  no  other 
Saviour,  They  are  satisfied  with  Christ,  though 
in  want  of  other  things;  while  without  him  all 
other  things  are  nothing. 

Another  characteristic  of  these  views  is  that 
tliey  produce  a  loivly  mind.  No  views,  be  the}^ 
ever  so  transporting,  are  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  that 
have  not  this  effect  upon  the  soul.  Never  does 
the  Christian  lie  so  low  as  when  he  enjoys  the 
clearest  perceptions  of  his  Redeemer's  glory.  "  I 
have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but 
now  mine  eye  seeth  thee ;  wherefore  I  abhor  my- 
self and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes !"  When  he 
looks  up  and  sees  how  exalted  and  glorious  that 
Saviour  is,  he  is  covered  with  shame  ;  an  humbling 
sense  of  his  own  abjectness  and  vileness  abases 
him.  Past  and  present  sin  humbles  him,  abases  his 
pride,  and  fills  him  with  self-loathing.  He  lies 
low,  and  "  his  comeliness  is  turned  into  corruption." 
The  soul  feels  its  wants  then.  It  is  sensible  of  its 
insufficiency  and  ill-desert,  and  its  language  is 
"  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !"  We  may 
rest  satisfied  that  where  our  views  of  Christ  are 
such  as  to  lift  up  the  heart  in  pride,  and  produce 
a  self-sufficient  and  self-exulting  spirit,  they  are 
not  of  God. 

Still  another  characteristic  of  all  spiritual  views 
of  Christ  is  a  cherished  solicitude  to  lionor  and  glo- 
rify him.     They  give  him  the  throne,  and  would 


70  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

see  him  enthroned  in  every  heart.  One  glimpse 
of  his  glory,  and  no  living  man  asks  for  greater 
evidence  that  he  deserves  to  be  practically  acknowl- 
edged as  "  God  over  all  blessed  forever."  The 
crown  of  the  Godhead  is  his ;  the  crown  of  Creation 
is  his ;  to  him  belong  all  the  badges  of  kingdom  and 
royalty.  The  crown  of  heaven  is  his ;  and  his  the 
crown  of  all  the  earth.    His 

"  By  ancient  covenant,  ere  nature's  birth, 
And  he  has  made  his  by  purchase  since. 
And  overpaid  its  vakie  with  his  blood." 

Look  where  he  will,  after  such  rich  views  of  his 
divine  Lord,  the  believer  exclaims,  "  Whom  have 
I  in  heaven  but  Thee ;  and  what  is  there  on  the 
earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee  !"  His  heart  finds 
its  sweetest  impulses  to  active  and  self-denying 
duty  in  the  character,  the  love,  the  ineffable  glory 
of  his  adorable  Master.  His  reason  goes  on  from 
step  to  step,  but  finds  naught  to  gratify  it  like  the 
revelations  that  are  made  of  Christ.  When  his 
affections  become  enchained  and  his  imagination 
enchanted  by  earthly  good  ;  nothing  breaks  the 
charm  like  spiritual  perceptions  of  this  "  brightest, 
sweetest,  fairest  One." 

AVhere  these  views  of  Christ  do  not  furnish 
effective  inducements  to  holy  living,  they  may  al- 
ways be  regarded  as  spurious.  The  Christian  pro- 
fession is  a  good  profession  ;  and  where  it  is  sus- 
tained by  supreme  love  to  Christ  and  joy  in  him, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      71 

is  indicated  by  watchfulness  and  prayer,  by  a  cir- 
cumspect deportment,  and  a  faith  that  is  manifest- 
ed by  works.  His  light  shines  before  men,  that 
others  seeing  his  good  works,  may  glorify  his  Fa- 
ther Avho  is  in  heaven.  If  he  is  obstructed  in  his 
heavenly  career,  he  is  the  more  careful  to  lay  aside 
every  weight  and  the  sin  that  doth  most  easily 
beset  him ;  and  though  he  is  never  what  he  should 
be,  he  strives  to  be  better  thian  he  is,  and  seeks  for 
grace  to  enable  him  to  walk  worthy  of  his  high 
hopes  and  high  vocation. 

Such  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of  that  spir- 
itual discernment  of  the  glory  of  Christ  that  are 
peculiar  to  the  people  of  God.  They  are  by  no 
means  the  same  in  all  Christians,  nor  with  the 
same  Christians  at  all  times.  The  best  "  see 
through  a  glass  darkly ;"  while  not  a  few  "  see  men 
as  trees  walking ;"  and  others  walk  for  the  most 
part  in  darkness.  No  one  may  draw  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  is  not  the  disciple  of  Christ  because 
he  has  not  the  same  illumined  views  with  Moses 
and  Paul.  If  he  does  not  hal:)itually  enjoy  the 
sunlight  splendor  of  God's  countenance,  let  him  be 
thankful  for  its  milder,  and  less  refulgent  rays. 
Paul  was  not  always  in  the  third  heavens,  nor 
was  Moses  always  in  the  Mount  with  God.  There 
are  bright  views  of  the  Redeemer's  gloiy;  and 
there  are  those  equally  spiritual  that  are  less 
bright.     The  more  bright  we  should  desire  and 


72  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

seek  cafter,  because  they  are  attainable.  There  are 
no  new  faculties  imparted  to  the  soul  in  order  to 
enjoy  them ;  they  are  such  views  as  all  might  enjoy 
if  their  hearts  were  always  right  with  God,  and 
they  loved  the  Saviour  as  they  ought.  They  are 
not  obtained  by  the  revelation  of  any  new  truths 
not  contained  in  God's  word ;  but  by  clear  and 
deep  impressions  of  those  already  made  known, 
and  carried  home  to  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Let  the  reader,  in  view  of  these  thoughts,  ask 
himself,  am  la  Cliristian?  Do  I  belong  to  that 
peculiar  people,  who  in  character  and  sources  of 
enjoyment  differ  from  other  men  %  God  has  such 
a  people,  to  whom  he  gives  peculiar  views  of  the 
glory  of  his  Son.  No  thanks  to  them  that  they 
are  what  they  are.  The  work  is  God's ;  his  the 
grace,  and  his  the  glory !  "  I  thank  thee  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed 
them  unto  babes.  Even  so  Father,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  thy  sight !" 

Would  you  be  a  happy  Christian  ;  seek  to  know 
more  of  Christ;  There  is  more  to  be  seen  and  ad- 
mired in  him  than  you  have  ever  beheld.  There 
is  nothing  which  appertains  to  true  godliness  which 
those  who  have  once  experienced  do  not  desire  to 
experience  again,  and  in  still  higher  degrees.  Paul 
could  say,  "  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained  ; 
but  I  follow  after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  that 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      73 

for  whicli  I  am  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus." 
There  is  room  to  know  more,  love  moi'e,  admire, 
enjoy  more,  and  to  be  more  transformed  l^y  these 
delightful  manifestations  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory.  The  mind  of  a  godly  man  is  alive  to 
every  repeated  and  every  fresh  discovery  which  the 
Redeemer  makes  of  himself,  whether  in  his  word 
and  ordinances,  or  in  his  providence.  He  "  would 
see  Jesus."  He  would  see  him  everywhere,  and  en- 
joy him  in  everything.  Whatever  the  scene,  the 
events,  the  place,  the  duties  which  bring  his  Sa- 
viour near,  attract  his  own  heart  toward  Christ 
and  heaven.  That  is  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 
to  him,  and  he  says  of  it,  "  Lord  it  is  good  to  be 
here !"  The  most  adoring  views  he  would  have 
still  more  adoring.  His  prayer  is,  "I  beseech 
thee,  show  me  thy  glory !"  He  would  be  satisfied 
to  the  full ;  he  would  drink  of  those  "  rivers  of 
pleasure,"  that  "  river  of  life,  flowing  clear  as  crys- 
tal from  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb."  If 
you  walk  in  darkness,  there  is  fault  somewhere ; 
and  must  it  not  be  in  you  f  It  cannot  be  in  God ; 
for  "  God  is  love ;"  he  "  taketh  pleasure  in  them 
that  fear  him  and  in  them  that  liope  in  his  mercy." 
It  is  not  in  the  gospel ;  for  the  gospel  is  "  glad 
tidings  of  great  joy."  It  is  not  in  the  Saviour ;  for 
his  glory  is  never  concealed,  but  always  luminous, 
always  visible  if  men  will  but  open  their  eyes  to 
behold  it.    "  He  that  followeth  after  me,"  says  this 


74  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

great  source  of  light  and  comfort,  "  shall  oiot  walk 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."  He 
passed  through  scenes  of  darkness,  that  he  might 
"lift  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon  them,  and 
give  them  peace."  Let  the  benighted  Christian 
say,  "  Behold  I  am  vile ;  what  shall  I  answer  thee? 
I  will  lay  my  hand  upou  my  mouth."  He  is  looking 
to  other  sources  of  light  and  joy,  when  he  should 
be  looking  only  to  Christ.  It  is  not  the  world  that 
can  give  you  peace,  but  Christ.  It  is  not  human 
counsellors,  but  Christ  the  Wondejftd  Counsellor. 
It  is  not  frames  and  feelings,  but  Christ.  To  a  sin- 
ner everything  is  dark  but  Christ.  Happy  frames 
and  feelings  are  not  Christ.  They  change,  but  he 
never  changes.  There  is  no  delusion  when  faith  fixes 
its  eye  not  upon  itself  but  upon  him.  "  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ!^''  Let  these 
simple  truths  sink  down  into  your  hearts,  and  jowv 
nights  will  be  tranquil,  and  your  days  cheered  and 
joyful.  You  will  not  indeed  throw  off  from  your 
heart  the  load  of  conscious  wickedness,  but  you 
will  find  the  relief  of  pardon  and  grace ;  you  will 
be  established  in  the  peace,  and  hope,  and  joy  of 
the  gospel ;  your  apprehensions  will  be  dissipated, 
and  you  will  possess  those  views  of  the  Saviour's 
glory  which  fill  you  with  light  and  joy. 

Would  you  he  fitted  for  death  and  ripe  for  heav- 
en', seek  to  know  more  of  Christ.  Special  mani- 
festations of  his  glory  are  often  vouchsafed  to  the 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.       75 

people  of  God  for  tlie  purpose  of  furnishing  tliem 
responsible  and  self-denying  duty  and  toil.  They 
are  often  imparted  in  order  to  prepare  him  for 
scenes  of  conflict  and  days  of  temptation  and  trial. 
But  they  always  exert  a  happy  influence  in  fitting 
them  for  death  and  heaven.  No  small  part  of  the 
blessedness  of  that  joyous  world  consists  in  "  see- 
ing him  as  he  is ;"  though  even  there,  there  are 
heights  and  depths  of  his  glory  which  the  purest 
of  disembodied  spirits  never  penetrate.  There  the 
soul  is  happy  because  it  loses  itself  in  his  infinity, 
and  prospects  are  ever  being  opened  which  are  the 
source  of  ever  increasing  joy.  Preparatory  to  this 
glory  hereafter  revealed,  there  is  no  more  delight- 
ful or  eflfective  means  than  those  less  refulgent 
manifestations  begun  on  earth.  Nothing  so  cer- 
tainly withdraws  the  heart  from  things  seen  and 
temporal  and  fixes  it  on  the  things  that  are  unseen 
and  eternal.  They  are  like  the  Pisgah  views 
which  the  Prophet  enjoyed  of  the  Promised  Land, 
where  the  eye  of  faith  rests  on  the  "  delectable 
mountains,"  and  runs  over  the  fields  beyond  the 
flood.  They  are  like  some  unlooked-for  light  which 
breaks  on  the  path  of  the  wearied  and  benighted 
traveller  as  he  comes  near  to  his  journey's  end, 
and  as  it  glimmers  from  the  window  of  his  own 
beloved  home.  They  are  no  unfriendly  indications 
of  our  departure  from  the  present  world,  when 
the  veil  is  thus  drawn  aside,  and  like  the  martyred 


76  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

disciple  we  are  allowed  to  "  see  heaven  opened  and 
Jesus  standing  on  tlie  riglit  hand  of  God."  Christ  is 
"  all  and  in  all,"  to  the  dying,  as  well  as  the  living 
believer.  John  the  aged  might  well  consent  to 
be  gathered  to  his  people  after  that  vision  of  the 
Son  of  Man  in  the  isle  of  Patmos.  It  was  a  view 
that  travelled  with  him  to  his  grave.  Ever  after 
that  heavenly  voice  fell  upon  his  ear,  "  Fear  not ; 
I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead."  And  when 
that  same  voice  spoke  the  w^ords,  "  Surely  I  come 
quickly ;"  w^ell  did  this  favored  disciple  reply, 
"  Even  so ;  come  Lord  Jesus !" 

But  it  may  be  that  the  reader  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian. Yet  is  he  travelling  to  the  same  eternity  and 
through  no  such  illumined  path.  It  is  a  dark  path 
through  the  wilderness  which  he  has  chosen,  and 
a  dark  valley  through  which  he  enters  upon  his 
gloomy  inheritance.  No  fellow  spirit  can  accom- 
pany, no  created  arm  support  him  in  the  dread 
conflict.  The  Comforter  is  afar  oft',  and  he  goes 
alone  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living." 

What  shall  we  say  to  him  ?  Shall  we  cheer 
him  by  vivid  delineations  of  earthly  joy?  His 
mind  cannot  be  thus  satisfied,  even  though  thus 
transiently  deceived.  It  may  be  that  even  now  it 
would  fain  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness. 
It  were  no  fitting  counsel  to  magnify  in  his  esteem 
the  wealth,  and  honors,  and  pleasures  of  time.  We 
come  on  a  more  kind  errand,  and  have  a  sweeter 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  DISCERNED.      77 

message.  We  would  tell  him  of  tlie  crucified  and 
living  One  wlio  came  to  guide  his  erring  feet  into 
the  way  of  peace,  to  make  him  happy  by  making 
him  holy,  to  show  him  his  glory  and  induce  him 
to  become  partaker  of  his  joy.  The  pleasure  of 
his  return  to  God  would  outweigh  all  the  pain  of 
forsaking  and  mortifying  his  sin.  One  cheering 
view  of  Christ  would  far  transcend  all  the  glories 
of  earth  and  time.  Come,  "  taste  and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good."  Gather  fruit,  now  before  the  har- 
vest is  past  and  the  summer  of  life  is  ended,  from 
this  Tree  of  Life.  Drink  of  these  rivers  of  salva- 
tion, that  you  go  not  any  more  to  these  broken 
cisterns  which  hold  no  water. 

O  what  overpowering  splendor  shines  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ !  Behold  it  as  the  "  glory  of 
the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth."  "  Look  unto  him  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye 
ends  of  the  earth,  for  he  is  God  and  there  is  none 
else !" 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Christ's  glory  the  wonder  of  angels. 

Fro]\[  the  fact  that  God  has  chosen  this  Avorld 
to  be  the  theatre  of  the  great  Redemption,  the 
inference  cannot  be  fiiirly  drawn,  that  all  the  ben- 
efits of  this  stupendous  work  are  confined  to  this 
world.  We  have  our  own  special  concern  in  it 
as  fallen  creatures ;  but  others  observe  it  as  well 
as  we,  and  may,  j^erad venture,  learn  more  from  it 
than  we  ourselves  learn,  jMen  are  not  the  only 
race  of  intelligences  in  the  universe ;  some  there 
may  be  that  are  lower;  that  there  are  those  who 
are  higher  is  distinctly  revealed  to  ns.  We  have 
frequent  notices  of  the  existence  of  a  ciass  of  in- 
telligences existing  in  another  state  of  being,  and 
constituting  a  celestial  family,  or  hierarchy,  over 
which  God  immediately  presides.  They  are  of 
different  orders,  and,  it  would  seem,  form  a  chain 
of  beings  which  fill  up  the  chasm  between  the  in- 
finite Creator  and  the  creature  man.  We  know 
nothing  of  them   except  from  the  Bible ;  while 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OP  ANGELS.  79 

from  this  source  our  knowledge  is  collected  from 
hints  and  fragments,  rather  than  from  any  historic 
or  dogmatic  statement.  They  are  spiritual  beings, 
of  intelligent  and  holy  character;  and  in  those 
instances  in  which  they  have  appeared  to  men 
they  have  appeared  in  human  forms,  in  I'obes  of 
purity,  and  with  emblems  of  power.  When  sent 
on  errands  of  mercy,  their  countenances  are  full 
of  light  and  love  ;  full  of  terror  when  bearing  mes- 
sages of  judgment.  They  are  described  in  the 
New  Testament  as  yoking  men  whose  countenance 
is  like  lightning,  and  whose  raiment  is  white  as 
snow.  They  stand  in  the  presence  of  God ;  are 
ministering  spirits  to  them  that  shall  be  the  heirs 
of  salvation ;  and  in  the  execution  of  this  office 
are  sometimes  clothed  with  a  cloud,  and  a  rain- 
bow about  their  head. 

We  probably  have  very  inadequate  views  of  the 
number  of  these  holy  and  heavenly  intelligences. 
They  are  represented  as  a  "host,"  and  as  "the 
host  of  heaven,"  standing  on  the  right  and  the  left 
of  the  celestial  throne ;  as  "  thousands  of  angels ;" 
as  "  thousands,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand ;"  as  "  more  than  twelve  legions  ;"  as  "  a  great 
multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,"  and  as  an  innu- 
merable company  of  angels."  It  is  said  of  them 
that  they  "  excel  in  strength  ;"  that  they  are  "  great 
in  power  and  might,"  and  that  their  activity  and 
power  are  such  that  they  fly  from  heaven  to  earth, 


80  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  from  earth  to  heaven,  with  a  swiftness  that  is 
inconceivable  to  men. 

The  object  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  speak 
of  the  fact,  itself  that  angels  take  a  deep  interest 
in  the  Person  of  Christ ;  to  show  xvliy  they  feel 
this  interest;  and  to  advert  to  \\\^  impressions 
which  their  views  of  his  glory  make  npon  their 
own  minds. 

We  will,  in  the  first  place,  advert  to  the  fact 

ITSELF,  THAT  ANGELIC  EXISTENCES  FEEL  A  DEEP  IN- 
TEREST IN  THE  Person  and  work  of  Christ. 

Although  these  celestial  messengers  have  no 
personal  interest  in  the  redemption  of  Christ,  be- 
cause they  are  not  sinners;  yet  are  they  repre- 
sented as  "  desirinsr  to  look  into  it."     One  of  the 

o 

great  truths  enumerated  by  the  Apostle  Paul  as 
connected  with  the  history  of  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  is  that  he  v/as  "  seen  of  angels."  The  same 
apostle,  in  addressing  the  church  of  Ephesus,  dis- 
tinctly informs  us,  that  it  was  "  the  intent"  of  this 
redemption,  that  "  now  unto  pnnci]}alities  and 
'poioers  in  heavenly  iJla-ces  might  be  known  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God."  It  is  a  curious  fact,  also, 
that  in  the  great  epoch  of  the  Saviour's  history, 
we  find  these  angel  ministrations ;  ever  and  anon 
the  angels  of  God  are  about  his  path,  and  hovering 
over  him.  There  is  an  intercourse  kept  up  between 
them,  as  though  the  association  were  mutually  ex- 
pected and  delightful. 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  81 

Men  "  see  through  a  glass  darkly,"  both  from 
the  imperfection  of  their  intellectual  powers,  the 
sinfulness  of  their  character,  and  the  remoteness 
of  their  position  from  celestial  objects.  Angels 
possess  thought  and  intelligence  far  above  that 
which  is  human ;  while  their  proximity  to  heav- 
enly things  enables  them  to  behold  them  without 
any  intervening  obstruction.  We  are  ignorant  of 
the  laws  of  their  intercourse  with  one  another,  and 
with  the  great  and  glorious  objects  around  them; 
yet  in  those  instances  in  which  they  have  appeared 
among  men,  the  medium  of  their  percej^tions  seems 
to  have  been  not  unlike  our  own.  Their  views  and 
emotions  were  communicated  just  as  we  commu- 
nicate ours;  and  their  perceptions,  though  more 
extensively  intuitive,  are  derived  from  sources  of 
knowledge  more  proximate  and  more  clear,  indeed, 
but  such  as  are  revealed  to  men. 

When  the  revelation  was  first  made  known  in 
heaven  that  he  was  to  take  upon  him  "not  the 
nature  of  angels,  but  the  seed  of  Abraham,"  there 
is  no  doubt  they  regarded  the  intelligence  with 
astonishment ;  and  when  he  assumed  man's  nature, 
and  made  known  the  great  objects  he  had  in  view 
by  this  assumption,  while  a  part  of  their  number 
revolted  from  this  service  as  an  indignity  to  their 
exalted  rank,  those  who  remained  loyal  held  them- 
selves ready  to  promote  this  glorious  design  in  all 
the  ways  by  which  their  loyalty  to  the  Son  of  God 

4* 


82  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  their  love  for  man  could  be  expressed.  Tliey 
regarded  him  with  high  interest  as  their  Maker 
and  Lord;  but  when  he  veiled  his  divine  glory, 
and  was  made  of  a  woman  and  made  under  the 
law,  they  regarded  him  with  new  interest,  and  with 
an  admiration  still  more  profound.  Some  of  them 
had,  from  time  to  time,  attended  on  their  adorable 
Master  when  he  made  a  transient  appearance  to  the 
patriarchs  as  a  prelude  and  earnest  of  his  actual 
coming  in  the  flesh  ;  and  now  they  saw  the  whole 
import  of  that  incarnation.  Centuries  before,  it 
had  been  predicted  that  his  "  name  shall  be  called 
Wondei'ful ;"  and  now  the  wonder  was  realized. 
They  beheld  his  glory ;  it  was  a  rapturous  view  to 
them  of  those  councils  of  peace  which  had  been  made 
known  in  heaven.  They  had  seen  that  there  was 
no  hope  for  the  apostate  rebels  of  their  own  race ; 
and  they  waited  with  eager  expectation  to  see  the 
problem  solved,  how  God  could  be  "just,  and  the 
justifier  of  the  ungodly;"  how  Satan  could  be 
baffled  in  his  mischievous  and  successful  device  of 
marHs  apostasy ;  how  snail's  restoration  and  hap- 
piness could  be  rendered  consistent  with  the  sup- 
port of  the  divine  government  and  the  authority 
of  the  divine  law,  and  the  whole  enterprise  be  so 
conducted  as  to  save  the  Deity,  harmless,  and  even 
augment  the  lustre  of  his  throne.  When  the  eter- 
nal Word  bowed  his  heavens,  and  they  beheld  the 
child  that  was  born,  they  saw  the  mystery  of  god- 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  83 

liness  thus  far  explained.  They  were  expecting 
this  event ;  and  Gabriel  was  sent  to  foretell  it  to  his 
virgin  mother.  And  when  she  brought  forth  her 
first-born  and  laid  him  in  the  manger,  one  of  them 
was  commissioned  to  make  it  known  to  the  shep- 
herds, while  "  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel 
a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God, 
and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good-will  to  men  !"  They  even  indi- 
cated the  place  of  his  birth  to  the  astonished  shep- 
herds; and  it  was  in  obedience  to  their  angelic 
directions  that  these  men  went  to  Bethlehem  and 
"  found  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  the  babe  lying  in 
a  manger." 

This  was  but  the  beginning  of  their  admiration. 
When  the  eastern  sages  worshipped  him,  angels 
beheld  the  sight ;  and  they  saw  how  and  why  it 
was,  that  "Herod  and  all  Jerusalem  were  trou- 
bled." They  saw  his  flight  into  Egypt,  w^onder- 
ing  why  men  should  take  the  alarm,  because  the 
God  of  love  had  come  to  dwell  on  the  earth. 
They  saw  his  return  to  Nazareth,  and  witnessed 
the  purity  and  devotion  of  his  private  life,  and 
marked  how  this  remarkable  Personage  "  grew  in 
wisdom  and  in  stature,  and  in  favor  with  God  and 
man."  Night  and  day  did  they  observe  him,  for 
they  had  never  seen  such  a  sight  before  ;  "  a  sin- 
less child,  a  sinless  youth,  a  sinless  man,"  among 
the  descendants  of  Adam !     It  was  a  wondrous 


84:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

object  tliey  thus  beheld  iu  humble  retirement, 
and  before  he  launched  upon  more  troubled 
scenes  and  agitated  seas.  It  was  not  in  his  true 
glory  that  he  even  then  appeared  to  them ;  but 
they  thought  not  the  less  of  him  for  appearing  in 
this  strange  disguise.  He  was  not  disguised  to 
them;  they  knew  him  well;  and  they  joyfully 
discerned  in  his  person  and  conduct,  that  great- 
ness and  goodness,  that  beauty  of  holiness,  which 
outshone  all  their  own,  and  made  them  veil  their 
faces  in  his  presence.  A  palace  and  a  throne 
would  have  added  nothing  to  him  in  their  estima- 
tion ;  nor  the  riches  of  the  world,  even  though 
for  our  sakes  he  became  poor.  Nor  would  it  have 
increased  his  glory  in  their  view,  if,  instead  of  the 
reproaches  that  were  cast  upon  him,  his  name  had 
been  ahvays  mingled  with  the  hosannahs  of  the 
people. 

For  thirty  years  of  his  short  life,  he  remained 
thus  in  comparative  retirement ;  and  they  saw  him 
all  the  while.  But  when  he  came  forth  to  the  world, 
and  published  the  errand  on  Avhich  he  came,  they 
also  published  and  confirmed  it.  He  was  seen  of 
them  when  John  baptized  him  in  Jordan ;  and 
when  he  came  up  from  the  river,  they  heard  the 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  "This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased !"  In  his  forty 
days'  dwelling  in  the  wilderness  they  watched  him, 
solitary  and  alone  among  beasts  and  devils ;  they 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  §5 

saw  liis  conflicts,  and  when   "the  Devil  leaveth 
him,   behold   angels   came   and   ministered   unto 
him."     They  saw  his  miracles ;  and  were  held  in 
astonishment  at  the  power  of  the  Great  Healer. 
They  heard  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
him ;  and  were  the  witnesses  of  his  patience  and 
.  meekness  under  it  all.    When  he  was  transfigured 
on  the  Mount,  they  saw  him ;  and  rejoiced  at  this 
prelibation  of  his  coming  glory.     In  Gethsemane 
they,  beheld  him,  burdened  and  distressed;  and 
they  heard  the  cry,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass   from  me!"     They  were   the  wit- 
nesses  of  that   deep   distress;   and,  strange  and 
wondrous  errand,  so  abject  was  his  condition,  and 
so  high  their  privilege,  that  "  an  angel  appeared 
strengthening  him!"      They  saw   him   betrayed 
and   apprehended;   and    legions   of   them   stood 
ready   to   rescue   him   at   his   Father's    bidding. 
They  saw  him  arraigned,  accused,  insulted,  blind- 
folded,  spit   upon,    dragged   from    hall   to    hall, 
scourged,  crowned  with  thorns,  and  at  last  con- 
demned as  a  malefactor.     They  saw  him  led  out 
to  Calvary ;  they  stood  still,  because  heaven  stood 
still ;  and  this  commandment  they  received  from 
their  Lord,  while  the  high  and  holy  and  harmless 
One  was  laid  on  the  cross,  transfixed  with  nails, 
raised  up  in  agony  to  be  a  gazing-stock  to  the 
infuriate  populace,  and  inhumanly  derided  in  his 
agonies.     He  was  seen  and  heard  of  angels,  when 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 


he  cast  that  look  of  pity  ou  the  dying  thief;  and 
when  he  uttered  those  words  of  filial  love  and 
duty  on  behalf  of  his  weeping  mother.  They 
heard  that  prayer  for  his  enemies,  and  that  final 
sentence,  "  It  is  finished !"  They  saw  him  expire, 
taken  down,  and  laid  in  the  tomb  of  Joseph. 
Where  the  soldiers  watched,  they  kept  watch  also 
over  his  lifeless  body.  And  as  soon  as  the  third 
day  began  to  dawn,  one  of  them  appeared  and 
rolled  away  the  rock  that  was  upon  the  mouth  of 
the  sepulchre,  and  for  "  fear  of  him  the  keepers 
did  shake  and  became  as  dead  men."  They  saw 
him  rise  from  the  dead,  and  were  in  waiting  in 
shining  apparel,  to  announce  the  joyful  tidings  to 
his  disciples,  "  He  is  not  here,  he  is  risen !"  And 
when  forty  days  afterward,  he  was  received  up 
into  glory,  they  stood  by  and  saw  him  go  up. 
Nay,  they  tarried  awhile  to  console  his  mourning 
disciples,  with  the  assurance  of  his  coming  again 
a  second  time,  without  sin  unto  salvation.  They 
conducted  him  to  his  throne  in  triumph ;  shouted 
his  return  in  joyous  praises,  and  though  they  have 
not  learned  the  notes  of  the  redeemed,  they  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  "Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up  ye  everlasting  doors, 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in."  After  he 
ascended,  also,  they  saw  and  honored  him.  They 
beheld  his  glory  in  the  "ministration  of  the 
Spirit."     And  if  "  there  is  joy  in  heaven  among 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  87 

the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 
eth,"  what  a  jubilee  was  the  day  of  Pentecost  to 
angels  !  And  how  often  has  that  jubilee  been  re- 
peated ;  and  those  angelic  triumphs,  how  sweetly 
have  they  reverberated,  and  how  are  they  des- 
tined to  prolong  their  echo !  Nor  does  their  ad- 
miration stop  here.  In  the  future  and  final 
administration  of  the  Mediator's  government  on 
the  earth,  they  still  bear  a  part.  They  are  com- 
missioned by  him  to  sound  one  trumpet  and  one 
woe  after  another,  in  order  to  prepare  the  way 
for  his  Last  Advent.  Nay  more,  at  his  command 
"  the  angels  come  forth  to  sever  the  wicked  from 
among  the  just,"  and  to  "gather  his  saints  to- 
gether who  have  made  a  covenant  with  him  by 
sacrifice."  And  when  he  shall  come  to  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness,  they  shall  be  his  glorious 
attendants;  "the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  m  Ms 
glory^  and  all  the  lioly  angels  with  him."  They 
are  now,  they  shall  be  ever,  enveloped  with  his 
glory  ;  his  glory,  from  first  to  last,  is  their  wonder 
and  admiration. 

Thus  true  is  it  that  the  glory  of  Christ  is  the 
admiration  of  angels.  Men  admire  other  things. 
They  are  intent  on  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  pleasure, 
and  fame.  They  gaze  with  admiration  on  the 
beauty  and  majesty  of  the  outstretched  earth, 
and  the  splendor  of  the  starry  heavens.  Its 
princes  and  its  palaces,  its  proud  cities  and  gor- 


88  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

geous  temples,  and  tlie  solemnity  and  pomp  of 
their  religious  worship,  these  excite  their  wonder. 
Angels  look  at  Christ  and  admire  his  great  glory. 
This  world  did  not  contain  such  another  Person- 
age, nor  present  a  scene  half  so  glorious  in  their 
eyes.  The  splendid  court  of  princes  had  no 
charms  for  them,  compared  with  Mary's  Son. 
The  wealth  and  honors,  the  learning  and  splendor 
of  earth  they  could  not  look  at,  so  long  as  their 
eye  might  be  fixed  on  Jesus.  Its  men,  its  virtues, 
were  lost  sight  of,  while  they  might  behold  him, 
and  be  conversant  with  one  so  holy  and  harmless, 
so  undefiled  and  separate  from  sinners.  Jerusa- 
lem with  its  gorgeous  Temple  made  with  hands, 
they  cared  not  for,  so  long  as  they  could  see  him 
within  its  sacred  courts,  and  hear  him  disputing 
with  its  learned  masters.  Its  sacred  ark  and  ves- 
tal fires  were  of  little  moment  to  them.  The  ark 
was  gone,  the  primitive  fires  on  its  altars  were  ex- 
tinguished. The  Temple  needed  them  not,  for  he 
filled  it  who  w^as  its  glory,  and  who  made  the 
glory  of  the  latter  greater  than  the  glory  of  the 
former  house.  This  earth  did  not  contain  such 
another  Personage,  nor  j^resent  a  scene  half  so 
glorious  in  their  eyes,  as  this  ever-blessed  and 
adorable  Redeemer. 

We  proceed  in  the  next  place,  to  the  eeasoint 

OF  THEIR  devout  ADMIRATION. 

Here  we  I'emark,  in  the  first  place,  angels  were 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  AVONDER  OF  ANGELS.  89 

made  the  spectators  of  these  things,  that  theij 
might  he  the  witnesses  of  them.  It  is  well  for 
Christianity,  that  its  Author  is  thus  glorious  in  the 
eyes  of  angels.  They  are  liis  witnesses  as  well  as 
men.  In  every  view,  their  testimony  to  the  great 
facts  in  the  history  of  Christy  is  of  weight  in  the 
argument  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
These  facts,  as  we  have  had  occasion  frequently 
to  remark,  lie  at  the  basis  of  that  religion  that 
is  revealed  from  heaven.  He  who  believes  these 
facts  to  be  true,  and  treats  them  as  true,  is  a 
Christian.  He  who  rejects  them,  or  gives  his  cold 
and  bald  assent  to  them,  without  trusting  in  them, 
is  an  infidel.  We  say  nothing  of  other  evidence ; 
God  himself  summons  his  angels  from  heaven  to 
bear  witness  to  these  great  and  glorious  realities. 
They  were  eye-witnesses  of  them ;  and  they  have 
more  than  once  come  down  from  their  high  abodes 
to  give  their  testimony.  In  bright  array  they 
stand  before  men  as  the  Saviour's  witnesses.  Men 
may  think  little  of  this  testimony ;  but  it  will  be 
found  to  have  either  a  justifying  or  condemning 
powei".  We  may,  or  may  not  give  credence  to 
such  testimony,  Init  it  is  given  to  us.  And  it 
will  be  given  at  another  day,  when  the  universe 
shall  hear  it,  and  shall  know  that  the  witness  they 
bear  is  true. 

In  the  next  place,  He  whom  they  thus  satv  and . 
adrnired^  is  worthy  of  their  intense  regard.     He 


90  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  but  he  is  their  Cre- 
ator ;  he  is  that  eternal  Word  without  whom  not 
one  of  them  was  made.  He  was  in  \om'  attire, 
but  more  exalted  than  they ;  "  for  to  which  of  the 
angels  saith  God  at  any  time.  Thou  art  my  Son, 
this  day  have  I  begotten  thee?"  God  requires 
of  them  this  respectful,  this  venerating,  this  devo- 
tional regard,  to  his  well-beloved  and  only-begot- 
ten Son.  When  he  bringeth  his  only-begotten 
into  the  world,  he  saith,  "  Let  all  the  angels  of  God 
worship  him."  In  his  human  nature,  he  is  the 
"  head  of  the  creation  of  God."  It  is  his  purpose, 
"in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  time,  to 
gather  together  in  one,  all  things  in  Christ,  both 
which  are  in  lieaven^  and  which  are  on  earth; 
even  in  him."  It  is  but  taking  their  place  and 
giving  him  his,  to  watch  him  at  every  stej?  of  his 
career;  and  never  are  they  so  exalted  as  when 
thus  observing  and  thus  ministering  to  their  Cre- 
ator and  Lord.  God  hath  highly  exalted  him, 
and  given  him  a  name  that  is  above  every  name, 
that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
of  "  things  in  heaven,  as  well  as  things  upon  the 
earth."  Believers  on  the  earth,  in  the  homage 
they  pay  to  the  Incarnate  God,  are  only  "  come  to" 
and  sympathize  with,  an  "  innumerable  company  of 
angels."  We  know  not  all  the  relations  which 
exist  between  Christ  and  these  unfallen  spirits ; 
but  they  well  understand  that  his  assumption  of 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  91 

human  nature,  and  his  official  capacity  and  subor- 
dination to  the  Father,  abate  nothing  of  his  essen- 
tial claims  as  "  over  all  God  blessed  forever." 
Angels  celebrate  the  glory  with  which  he  is  in- 
vested, because  all  power  is  given  to  him  in 
heaven  and  on  earth ;  boundless  resources  are  his ; 
to  him  belongs  the  homage  of  the  universe. 

In  their  admiring  views  of  Christ,  tliere  is  also 
a  beautiful  exldhition  of  the  angelic  character. 
They  are  not  of  the  moral  temperament  which 
allows  them  to  be  indifferent  to  any  of  God's 
works,  or  to  any  of  the  manifestations  of  his  ex- 
cellence ;  much  less  to  this  great  impersonation 
of  the  Deity ;  or  to  his  redemption,  which  is  the 
greatest,  the  brightest,  of  all  his  works.  They 
were  filled  with  wonder,  because  he  was  mani- 
fested for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  works  of 
the  Devil,  and  establishing  and  perpetuating  on 
the  earth,  the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace, 
and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  God  has  taken  occa- 
sion thus  to  turn  the  apostasy  of  man  to  good  ac- 
count, and  thereby  to  illustrate  his  own  wisdom 
and  all-sufficiency,  and  to  express  at  once  the 
glory  of  his  justice  and  the  riches  of  his  grace. 
Angels  would  do  violence  to  their  own  nature, 
not  to  worship  at  his  cross,  and  bow  at  his  throne. 
Here  is  the  showing  forth  of  his  glory,  and  the 
exact  representation  of  his  essence.  On  the  won- 
drous facts  of  his  mediation,  these  lofty  intelH- 


92  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

gences  delight  to  meditate,  because  tliey  are  be- 
nevolent beings;  this  greatest  expression  of 
benevolence  and  love  that  was  ever  made,  must 
necessarily  attract  their  attention.  They  are  holy 
beings ;  and  it  cannot  but  be  delightful  to  their 
holy  minds,  to  see  the  multitudes  once  totally  de- 
filed with  sin,  now,  and  hereafter,  to  be  washed, 
and  sanctified,  and  restored  to  perfect  purity.  They 
the  friends  of  God,  of  order,  of  law,  and  of  good 
government ;  and  in  this  Deity  Incarnate,  and  his 
triumph  on  the  cross,  there  is  a  sure  and  certain 
pledge  of  the  happy  issue  of  all  the  events  of 
time,  and  the  everlasting  security  of  the  divine 
empire. 

Nor  may  the  thought  be  overlooked,  that  angeh 
themselves  are  the  gainers  hy  this  great  redemption. 
Though  not  the  objects  of  it,  it  consults  their 
character,  their  honor,  their  joys.  Though  they 
form  no  part  of  Christ's  redeemed  kingdom,  yet 
are  they  brought  under  the  same  rule,  and  author- 
ity, and  Prince.  It  is  the  object  of  his  incarna- 
tion, to  bring  the  whole  unfallen  and  redeemed 
creation  into  one  family,  and  into  closer  union 
with  himself  Through  this  great  work  they  are 
expecting  to  see  the  terrible  breach  repaired,  that 
was  made  by  the  rebellion  and  fall  of  so  many  of 
their  own  once  holy  society ;  and  as  those  vacant 
mansions  are  thus  replenished,  to  unite  with  the 
restored  millions  of  our  race  in  the  sacred  joys  of 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  93 

their  obedience  and  praise.  There  is,  and  there 
will  be  forever,  a  heartfelt  union  between  the 
saved  of  our  race  and  angels,  which  never  would 
have  been  known,  but  for  Christ. 

It  is  natural  to  ask,  as  the  last  topic  of  our 
illustration,  wliat  are  some  of  the  impressions  wliicli  --' 
their  vieio  of  the  Redeemer'' s  glory  must  make  on 
these  angelic  minds?  We  know  nothing  what 
these  impressions  are,  except  as  they  are  revealed 
to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  and  from  what  we  know 
of  angels  themselves.  Their  impressions  must  be 
worthy  of  their  holy  natures,  and  of  the  vast 
intellect  with  which  their  Master  has  gifted  them. 
They  are,  and  ever  have  been,  disposed  to  look 
with  a  friendly,  gratified  eye,  on  all  that  God  has 
done.  They  are  capable  of  very  strong  and  in- 
tense impressions,  and  there  is  nothing  more  fitted 
to  produce  them  than  this  Incarnate  Deity,  and 
the  objects  and  purposes  for  which  he  came  into 
the  world.     Their  views  of  Christ  must,  therefore. 

In  the  first  place,  greatly  augment  their  love  and 
admiration  of  God  himself.  Every  new  view  of 
God  increases  their  obligations  to  love  and  admire 
him ;  and  here  they  have  the  clearest  and  most 
enlarged  views.  There  is  every  reason  to  l)elieve 
that  even  their  intellectual  and  moral  powers  be- 
come invigorated  by  this  service  ;  and  that  in  this 
contemplation  of  the  Deity  their  minds  become 
greatly  expanded,   and  their  hearts   greatly  en- 


94  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

larged.  Their  love  of  him  must  be  inflamed,  and 
their  confidence  in  him  greatly  strengthened,  by 
their  views  of  him  as  manifested  in  the  flesh.  It 
must  fill  them  with  unbounded  admiration  of  his 
manifold  wisdom,  his  strange  condescension,  his 
matchless  love  and  grace,  his  equal  justice,  his 
inviolal)le  truth,  and  all  his  glowing  excellencies 
and  unfolding  j^urposes,  as  they  thus  shine  in  the 
face  of  his  Sou.  It  is  altogether  a  new  view  of 
God,  and  such  as  they  never  had  before ;  and  it 
is  a  most  delightful  view.  The  prophet  Isaiah 
once  had  a  remarkable  vision  of  the  angels,  as 
they  themselves  fixed  their  minds  upon  the  Incar- 
nate Deity.  "I  saw  the  Lord,"  says  he,  "high 
and  lifted  up;  and  his  train  filled  the  Temple. 
Above  it  stood  the  seraphim,  each  one  had  six 
winsrs ;  with  twain  he  covered  his  feet,  with  twain 
he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly. 
And  one  cried  to  another,  and  said,  Holy,  holy, 
holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  the  whole  earth  is  full 
of  his  glory !"  These  were  very  deep  and  strong 
impressions.  They  were  heartfelt  and  thrilling 
impressions,  whenever  those  pure  and  lofty  spirits 
caught  a  view  of  Jesus.  There  is  no  object  which 
they  looked  upon  with  half  the  admiration  of  the 
Deity,  with  which  they  looked  upon  him.  This 
wide  universe  they  had  explored,  but  nowhere 
saw  so  much  of  God,  and  so  much  to  admire,  as 
in  the  Person  of  his  Son.    For  ages  and  ages  have 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  95 

they  travelled  over  tlie  vast  empire  of  Jehovah, 
to  observe  and  mark  Avhere  and  what  could  give 
them  the  most  admiring  views  of  God ;  but  they 
always  came  back  to  gaze  upon  the  manger  and 
the  cross. 

It  is  quite  obvious,  in  the  next  place,  that  their 
views  of  the  glory  of  Christ,  communicate  to  their- 
mind  deep  impressions  of  the  sovereignty  of  God^ 
in  providing  a  Saviour  for  men^  and  not  for  tlie 
fallen  of  their  own  race.  Those  of  their  own 
race  who  fell,  once  stood  upon  as  solid  and  lofty 
an  eminence  as  the  unfallen;  but  God  suffered 
them  to  fall,  and  now  they  are  "reserved  in 
chains  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
Great  Day."  God  kept  these  holy  and  favored 
ones,  else  they  would  have  fallen  too.  And  deep 
must  be  their  sense  of  dependence,  and  most  deep 
their  gratitude.  When  a  portion  of  their  own 
once  holy  and  happy  race  thus  fell,  they  fell  with- 
out remedy  and  without  hope.  There  was  no 
helpei' — no  mystery  of  godliness — no  God  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  preached  to  them,  or  to  be  re- 
ceived by  them.  When  angels  beheld  him  as  the 
appointed  Saviour  for  men^  it  was  an  impressive, 
an  amazing  view,  of  his  amiable  and  awful  sov- 
ereignty, who  "has  a  right  to  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own."  It  was  an  instructive  and  memo- 
rable view ;  it  was  a  test  of  their  submission  to 
God's    supremacy;    it   proved    their   ^ '^Mnission, 


QQ  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  that  instead  of  finding  fault  witli  God  be- 
cause he  thus  "  had  mercy  on  whom  he  would  have 
mercy,"  they  rejoiced  in  his  government,  and  even 
became  ministering  spirits  to  them  who  should  be 
heirs  of  salvation,  in  jDreference  to  the  fallen  of 
their  own  race. 

Their  views  of  Jesus  must  also,  in  the  next  place, 
give  them  strong  impressions  of  the  evil  of  sinning 
against  God.  The  time  was  when  they  had  the 
knowledge  of  good,  but  no  knowledge  of  evil. 
Until  a  part  of  their  own  race  fell,  they  had  no 
conception  of  what  it  was  to  do  wrong ;  there  never 
had  been  an  act  of  wrong  in  the  universe  ;  nor  had 
they  any  conception  of  what  it  was  to  be  tempted 
to  such  an  act.  When  Lucifer  fell,  they  saw  what 
it  was ;  and  it  was  a  terrible  view  when  they  saw 
him  and  his  guilty  confederates  forever  banished 
down  to  hell.  When  Adam  fell,  they  saw  what 
it  was,  and  what  a  fearful  curse  rested  upon  all 
the  successive  generations  of  men  !  But  when  the 
Son  of  God,  their  Lord  and  Maker,  stooped  so  low ; 
when  he  descended  lower  than  the  nature  of  angels, 
and  condescended  to  abject  men;  and  when  he 
humbled  himself  and  became  obedient  unto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross — and  all  because  he 
took  the  sinners'  place — then  they  saw  what  it  was 
to  sin.  Not  Lucifer's  expulsion  from  heaven,  nor 
Adam's  exile  from  Paradise,  nor  the  flood  that 
swept  away  the  antediluvian  world,  nor  the  fires 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  97 

tliat  rained  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrali  taught  them 
what  the  death  of  Jesus  taught  them.  If  they  had 
never  seen  Jesus  suffer,  never  would  they  have  had 
so  deep  impressions  of  the  evil  of  sin.  They  do 
not  wonder  now,  at  the  justice  that  condemns  the 
sinner.  No  marvel  that  God  spared  not  the  angels 
who  fell,  when  he  spared  not  his  Son ;  no  marvel 
that  he  spares  not  sinners  of  our  guilty  race,  if  he 
spares  not  his  well-beloved  Son. 

In  their  views  of  this  glorious  Saviour  they  also 
have  new  views  of  all  the  tvorhs  and  ivays  of  God. 
From  the  time  of  their  creation  to  the  fall  of  Adam 
and  the  announcement  of  the  method  of  redemp- 
tion by  Christ,  they  must  have  been  a  mystery  to 
themselves,  and  known  comparatively  little  of  the 
liigh  and  great  work  for  which  they  were  brought 
into  existence.  But  when  Christ  was  revealed, 
they  saw  themselves,  and  all  things  in  a  new  and 
splendid  light.  New  glory  was  given  to  the  Deity ; 
a  new  face  was  put  upon  all  his  creation  and  ivorhs  ; 
upon  angels  and  upon  men ;  upon  time  and  eter- 
nity ;  upon  the  church  and  the  world ;  upon  the 
method  of  God's  grace  and  the  method  of  his  jus- 
tice ;  upon  everything  in  the  universe  of  God ;  and 
especially  upon  that  great  and  glorious  end  which 
Christ  came  to  accomplish.  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh  is  the  luminous  truth  that  pours  light  upon 
every  other  and  all  other  mysteries.  Where  sin 
abounds,  it  makes  grace  much  more  abound ;  where 


98  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

darkness  covers  tlie  earth,  it  cbases  the  darkness 
awaj'' ;  it  swallows  up  death  in  victory.  We  our- 
selves are  babes  in  knowledge ;  and  the  more  so 
for  want  of  clear  and  impressive  views  of  the  work 
of  Christ.  Angels  do  not  see  all  that  is  to  be  seen ; 
but  they  see  most  when  they  see  most  of  the  Per- 
son, purposes,  and  work  of  Christ.  New^  light  is 
every  day  pouring  in  upon  their  astonished  minds ; 
the  glory  of  Christ  is  still  the  subject  of  their  new 
and  more  engaging,  and  rapturous  contemplations ; 
and  their  knowledge,  holiness,  and  happiness  still 
find  their  aliment  in  him  who  is  the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  his 
Person. 

Such  are  the  views  of  angels  of  the  glory  of 
Christ ;  such  some  of  the  thoughts  which  arrest 
their  attention  in  their  contemplations  of  his  glory ; 
and  such  some  of  the  impressions  which  a  view  of 
his  glory  makes  on  their  holy  minds. 

Does  not  this  conduct  of  angels  rebuke  the  thought- 
lessness and  indiffevtnce  of  wicked  men  f  What 
shall  we  say  of  those  who  take  no  notice  of  that 
which  angels  stoop  down  to  look  into !  Is  Jesus 
thus  admired  of  angels,  and  shall  he  be  despised 
and  rejected  of  men  ?  Do  angels  veil  their  faces 
with  adoring  reverence  before  him,  and  will  men 
turn  away  their  faces  from  him  through  shame  ? 
This  is  strange  delusion,  else  is  it  sin  beyond  the 
sin  of  devils.     O  foul  ingratitude  !  blackest  crime ! 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  99 

thus  to  contemn  him  whom  all  heaven  adores ! 
Men  have  an  interest  in  beholding  this  Lamb  of 
God  which  angels  cannot  have ;  yet  they  practi- 
cally say  unto  him,  "  Depart  from  us,  for  we  de- 
sire not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways."  Ye  who 
refuse  to  give  your  hearts  and  your  confidence  to 
this  incarnate  Deity,  and  will  not  come  to  him 
that  you  might  have  life,  ye  are  they  of  whom  we 
speak.  Your  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  your  ears 
are  dull  of  hearing,  and  your  eyes  have  you  closed : 
lest  at  any  time  ye  should  see  with  "  your  eyes, 
and  hear  with  your  ears,  and  understand  with  your 
heart,  and  should  be  converted."  O  that  your  eyes 
and  ears  were  opened,  and  your  consciences  awake, 
and  your  fears  alarmed,  and  your  hopes  excited 
toward  this  all-sufiicient  and  all-glorious  Saviour. 
Go  not  forward,  I  pray  you,  thus  blindfold  and 
careless  in  the  broad  road  to  destruction,  when 
that  Saviour,  whose  glory  dazzles  seraphs,  presents 
himself  before  your  eyes.  You  know  not  at  what 
you  stumble,  and  little  think  that  this  crucified 
Saviour  rejected,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice 
for  sin.  That  there  should  be  any  Saviour  for  lost 
and  ruined  sinners,  is  marvellous  mercy ;  but  that 
there  should  be  such  a  Saviour  is  still  more  mar- 
vellous. Well  does  he  say,  "  Ye  have  hated  me 
without  a  cause."  And  glorious  truth  that  he  also 
says,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  not  be  ofifended  in 
me!" 


100  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

And  wliat  tliouglits  does  this  conduct  of  angels 
address  to  the  people  of  God  ?  Christian !  behold 
what  angels  see,  and  love,  and  admire.  Though 
you  have  not  seen  him  with  your  bodily  eyes,  you 
may  yet  know  more  of  him  even  than  angels 
know.  If  God  has  called  you  out  of  darkness  into 
his  marvellous  light,  and  shined  in  your  hearts  to 
give  you  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  his  glory 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ ;  is  it  not  wonderful 
that  you  know  so  little  of  him  and  love  him  so 
little  ?  The  world  is  blind ;  but  why.  Christian, 
should  you  be  so  blind  to  the  glories  of  your  Sa- 
viour ?  See  him  as  he  forgets  himself  and  thinks 
of  you.  See  him  on  the  cross;  and  when  you 
learn  that  it  was  your  sins  that  nailed  him  there, 
O  look  upon  him  whom  you  have  pierced  and 
mourn.  Repentance  is  never  so  deep  and  bitter 
as  when  the  penitent  sinner  gets  a  sight  of  Christ 
crucified.  Come  see  him,  and  let  the  tears  flow. 
Come  see  him,  O  my  soul,  that  thou  mayest  repent 
and  mayest  be  forgiven,  and  mayest  be  saved.  See 
him  on  the  tlirone^  and  ask  why  it  is  that  he  is 
thus  exalted  ?  And  when  you  learn  that  it  was 
that  you  might  live  and  reign  with  him,  learn  also 
more  steadfastly  to  set  your  affections  on  things 
that  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  If  you  have  beheld  his  glory ;  if  you 
now  behold  it,  look  at  him  more  intensely.  Still 
look,  look  continually,  never  lose  sight  of  him.    All 


CHRIST'S  GLORY  THE  WONDER  OF  ANGELS.  IQl 

your  darkness,  doubts,  discomforts  arise  from  losing 
sight  of  Christ.  Look  to  him  whose  glory  is  the 
wonder  of  angels.  His  love  never  grows  cold  ;  his 
resources  never  fail.  Witness,  ye  who  have  been 
washed  in  his  blood  and  presented  faultless  before 
his  throne ;  witness  ye  angels  who  excel  in  strength, 
swift  to  do  his  will,  harkening  to  the  voice  of  his 
word,  if  there  be  any  sense  of  want  he  cannot 
relieve,  any  fear  he  cannot  quell,  any  guilt  he  can- 
not wash  away,  any  sinner  so  vile  that  he  cannot 
save  and  save  to  the  uttermost ! 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THE   GLORY   OF    CHRISt's   MILLENMAL   EEIGN    ON 
THE   EARTH. 

We  have  been  contemplating  a  series  of  causes 
which  forms  the  most  effective  chapter  in  the  di- 
vine purposes  and  government ; — God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  teaching,  obeying,  suffering,  dying,  rising, 
ascending,  reigning,  and  manifesting  his  power 
and  grace  in  the  dispensation  of  his  Spirit.  Facts 
like  these  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  a  sensi- 
ble and  permanent  influence  on  the  destiny  of  our 
race.  Earthly  princes  are  not  wont  to  visit  the 
remote  boundaries  of  their  empire  for  unimpor- 
tant ends;  nor  did  this  Prince  of  heaven  and 
Kino-  of  the  universe  descend  to  this  fallen  and 
proscribed  province  of  his  dominions,  but  for  ends 
that  vindicated  his  condescension.  Well  might 
the  inhabitants  of  this  and  other  worlds  be  look- 
ing out  for  important  changes  in  human  affairs, 
from  the  hour  when  the  Sufferer  of  Calvary  fin- 
ished his  work  and  went  up  on  high.  All  orders 
and  classes  of  men  might  well  be,  as  indeed  they 
were,  held  in  eager  expectancy.    Kings  upon  their 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  103 

thrones  would  naturally  be  arrested  by  these 
wondrous  occurrences;  and  the  agitated  nations, 
attracted  by  the  greatness  and  novelty  of  their 
claims,  would  anxiously  demand,  what  Avill  the 
end  of  these  things  be  ? 

We  have  in  a  former  series  of  lectures,  spoken 
of  some  of  the  "first  things"  which  distinguished 
the  history  of  the  divine  government ;  in  the  re- 
maining chapters  of  the  present  series,  we  pro- 
pose to  speak  of  la-'^t  tilings.  Our  object  is  not 
retrospective ;  it  is  the  bright  and  dawning  future 
that  now  employs  our  thoughts.  If  we  look  into 
the  Scriptures,  we  find  a  day  is  there  foretold, 
such  as  the  world  has  never  seen ;  a  remarkable 
age,  and  distinguished  for  nothing  so  much  as  the 
manifestation  of  the  Redeemer's  glory.  When 
the  sacred  writers  speak  of  it,  it  is  in  weighty 
thoughts  and  glowing  imagery.  "  As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord,  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  my 
glory.  All  the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remember, 
and  turn  uuto  the  Lord.  All  nations  whom  thou 
hast  made  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee,  O 
Lord,  and  shall  glorify  thy  name.  It  shall  come 
to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  shall  be  established  on  the  top  of 
the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the 
hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  I  have 
sworn  by  myself,  the  word  is  gone  out  of  my 
mouth  in  righteousness,  and  shall  not  return,  that 


104  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

unto  me  every  kuee  shall  bow,  and  every  tongue 
shall  swear.  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  to 
the  going  clown  of  the  same,  my  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  Gentiles.  I  saw  an  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  having  the  key  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand.  And  he 
laid  hold  on  the  Dragon,  that  old  Serpent,  and 
bound  him  a  thousand  years ;  and  cast  him  into 
the  bottomless  pit  and  shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal 
upon  him  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no 
more,  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled." 
Such  are  a  very  few  of  the  many  passages  of 
Scripture  which  describe  these  coming  days. 
Theological  writers  have  been  accustomed  to 
speak  of  this  period  as  the  Latter-Day  Gloey  ; 
as  the  Millennium  of  holiness  and  happiness ;  and 
as  the  Millennial  Keign  or  Christ  upon  the 
earth.  From  the  fact  that  the  scriptural  descrip- 
tions of  this  period  are  for  the  most  part  figura- 
tive and  symbolical,  there  has  been  and  still  is  a 
difference  of  opinion  in  relation  to  some  of  its 
leading  characteristics.  While  by  far  the  greater 
portion  of  the  church  of  God  "believe  that  it  is 
purely  a  spiritual  reign  of  Christ  that  is  here 
spoken  of,  not  a  few  advocate  the  view  that  it  is 
the  reign  of  Christ  in  his  own  i)roi:>er  jyerson. 
The  former  are  decided  in  their  judgment  by  the 
figurative  and  symbolic  language  which  speaks  of 
his  Millennial   glory;  by  other  truths  and  facts 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  105 

wMcli  tliey  deem  inconsistent  with  Christ's  per- 
sonal advent,  and  by  the  general  scope  and  spirit 
of  the  Sacred  Writings.  The  latter  rest  their 
conclusions  upon  the  more  literal  import  of  the 
language  which  speaks  of  that  period  itself.  This 
question  is  assuming  such  grave  importance  in 
our  own  land,  and  moreover  has  so  intimate  a  re- 
lation to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  that  we 
shall  devote  a  few  thoughts  to  the  consideration 
of  it,  before  we  present  the  scriptural  character- 
istics of  the  Millennium  itself 

The  views  of  those  who  adopt  the  opinion  of 
Christ's  personal  reign  upon  the  earth  cdnnot  be 
so  clearly  and  intelligibly  stated,  as  they  might  be 
if  the  advocates  of  them  did  not  differ  so  widely 
among  themselves.  Those  which  come  under  re- 
view in  the  following  chapter  may  be  thus  repre- 
sented. In  general  terms  they  affirm,  that  at  some 
subsequent  age  of  the  world  Jesus  Christ  will  de- 
scend in  Person  upon  this  earth,  and  here  establish 
a  visible  and  temporal  kingdom,  of  which  he  him- 
self will  l)e  the  reigning  Prince : — That  the  saints 
of  all  past  generations  will  then  be  raised  from  the 
dead,  be  associated  with  him  in  this  visible  empire, 
hold  places  of  power  and  authority  under  him  as 
their  Head,  and  with  him  possess  the  kingdom 
and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole 
heaven: — That  the  particular  place  where  this 
kingdom  is  to  be  established,  is  the  Holy  Land ; 


106  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Jerusalem  is  to  be  its  recognized  capital,  and  here 
the  Palace  of  the  Great  King  is  to  be  erected : — 
That  here  all  the  tribes  of  Hebrew  origin,  and  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  are  to  be  assembled,  and 
are  to  come  up  to  worship  the  true  God ;  and  that 
for  this  purpose  the  order  of  Jewish  Priests  and 
Levites  is  to  be  restored,  the  altars  and  sacrifices 
of  the  Levitical  Law  renewed,  and  new  revelations 
of  God's  will  to  be  made  known : — That  during 
this  visible  reign  of  Christ  and  his  saints  upon  the 
earth,  the  antichristian  powers  and  wicked  men 
who  will  not  submit  to  his  dominion  are,  at  differ- 
ent tim^s  and  in  different  places  to  be  judged  and 
destroyed,  and  that  this  is  the  day  of  judgment 
of  which  the  Scriptures  speak: — That  this  visible 
reign  of  Christ  and  his  saints  on  the  earth  is  to 
continue  forever : — That  the  race  will  increase  and 
multiply  just  as  it  does  now,  except  that  men  will 
no  longer  be  born  in  sin : — that  this  world  will 
never  come  to  an  end,  but  be  purified,  made  beau- 
tiful and  immortal,  and  the  everlasting  residence 
of  the  righteous : — That  men  will  always  continue 
to  be  regenerated  and  sanctified,  and  thus  the  re- 
demption of  the  race  go  on  perpetually ;  and  that 
the  time  when  Christ  will  thus  come  to  make  these 
visible  manifestations  is  near  at  hand,  and  may 
not  irrationally  be  considered  as  the  attendant,  or 
the  last  scene  in  the  drama  of  the  age  in  which  we 
live. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  107 

This,  SO  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  collect  it, 
from  volumes  not  a  few,  is  the  prevalent  theory 
of  what  is  called  the  pre-millennial  advent.  It 
holds  that  the  time  of  Christ's  second  coming  with 
all  these  attendants  and  sequences  is  not  at  tlie 
close  of  the  Millennium,  but  hefore  that  period. 
We  have  not  designedly  misrepresented  this  the- 
ory ;  we  have  not  caricatured  it ;  we  have  not 
colored  it  by  any  additions,  or  imaginations  of 
our  own.*  We  have  not  presented  it  in  its 
fulness;  we  could  not  do  so  without  writing  a 
volume. 

We  do  not  believe  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  say, 
that  we  have  no  sympathies  with  this  antiscrip- 
tural  theory.  With  the  single  exception  of  the 
return  of  the  Jews  to  the  Holy  Land,  on  which 
we  now  express  no  opinion,  and  which  is  not  a  ne- 
cessary part  of  the  theory,  we  do  not  believe  that 
it  is  anywhere  taught  in  the  Scriptures. 

There  are  two  ways  of  refuting  the  manifold  er- 
rors of  this  strange  system.  The  one  is  by  a  pa- 
tient and  critical  examination  of  the  passages  of 
Scripture  which  are  relied  on  for  its  support. 
This  is  too  tedious  a  process  for  such  a  work  as 
that  to  which  these  pages  are  devoted ;  nor  could 
it  be  interesting  to  the  great  mass  of  readers.  This 
has  been  done,  and  ably  and  conclusively  done 

*  See  Theological  and  Literary  Journal — and  also  the  Literalist 
— ^sparsim. 


108  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

already.*  The  other  method  is  to  bring  the  the- 
ory to  the  test  of  those  acknowledged  principles 
and  truths  of  the  gospel  with  Avhich  it  is  at  vari- 
ance. The  truths  of  God's  word  are  unchanging 
things.  There  are  truths  so  clearly  revealed,  and 
so  important,  that  the  theory,  or  interpretation 
which  calls  them  in  question  must  always  be  re- 
garded as  false.  It  is  a  safe  law  of  Scriptural  inter- 
pretation thus  to  "  compare  spiritual  things  with 
spiritual ;"  it  is  one  of  the  first  and  best  of  all  laws ; 
one  which  is  addressed  to  the  popular  mind ;  and 
one  which  cannot  be  controlled  ]jy  any  systems 
of  Literalism  or  Symbolization.  Of  how  little 
consequence  is  any  theory  of  symbolical  and  figu- 
rative, or  literal  interpretation,  which  should,  for 
example,  come  in  collision  with  the  doctrine  of 
God's  existence ;  or  the  perfection  of  his  purj)oses 
and  government;  or  the  doctrine  of  human  de- 
pravity ;  or  the  Deity  and  atonement  of  Christ ! 
These  are  settled  truths ;  the  theory  and  interpre- 
tation that  calls  them  in  question  must  be  unsound 
and  false,  however  learnedly  and  ingeniously  sup- 
ported. Now  there  are  features  in  this  theory  of 
Glirisfs  pre-millennial  advent^  which,  though  not 

*  See  The  Bampton  Lectures  —  Wardlaw's  Discourses,  and 
Brown  on  Christ's  Second  Coming.  See  also  Scott's  Com.  in 
loco ;  Pool's  Synopsis,  Rosenmuller,  and  Alexander  on  Isaiah,  in 
locis.  The  last  named  work  does  not  professedly  treat  of  this 
subject;  while  its  sound  principles  of  interpretation,  do,  in  our 
judgment,  x>\\t  the  question  at  rest. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  109 

at  war  with  the  truths  just  mentioned,  are  di- 
rectly at  Avar  with  other  truths  equally  undeniable. 
Men  who  adopt  theories  of  interpretation  which 
lead  to  these  results,  are  not  to  be  reasoned  with 
except  as  those  who  deny  important  truths  in 
God's  word,  and  important  priucij^les  as  sanctioned 
by  the  great  mass  of  Christians,  and  as  expressed 
in  the  Confessions  of  Faith  of  the  Eeformed 
churches.  We  must  necessarily  present  a  very 
brief  illustration  of  these  thoughts ;  and  although 
in-  this  illustration,  even  if  more  extended,  you 
would  have  but  a  part  of  our  objections  to  pre- 
milleuarian  theory,  we  hope  that,  partial  as  it  is, 
it  may  furnish  some  protection  against  errors  to 
which  good  men  in  the  present  age  of  excitement 
are  not  a  little  exposed. 

I.  Our  first  objection  against  this  theory  then 
is,  that  the  great  priRciple  vAicli  it  assumes  in  its 
interpretation  of  the  Scrijjtures  on  this  subject^  is  a 
false  principle.  That  jDriuciple  is  the  law  of 
rigidly  literal  interpretation^  than  which  nothing 
can  be  more  preposterous.  All  agree  that  the 
Scriptures  ought  to  be  so  interpreted  as  to  express 
the  mind  of  their  Author,  and  the  sense  which 
the  writers  of  them  intended  to  convey.  If  the 
sacred  writers  were  divinely  inspired,  they  cannot 
be  inconsistent  with  themselves.  If  there  be 
doubtful  and  obscure  passages  in  their  writings, 
they  are  to  be  rendered  clear  and  intelligible  by 


110  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

those  that  are  not  obscure  and  doubtful.  A  met- 
aphorical or  symbolical  passage  may  receive  light 
from  one  that  is  literal ;  while  one  that  is  literal 
may  receive  light,  force,  and  beauty,  from  those 
that  are  expressed  in  syml)ols  and  metaphor.  The 
simplest  interpretation,  and  that  which  presents 
itself  most  naturally  to  the  mind,  is  often  that 
which  regards  the  passage  as  purely  symbolical  or 
figurative.  It  may  require  great  art  and  subtlety, 
and  great  research,  in  order  to  justify  a  literal  in- 
terpretation of  some  passages  on  the  subject  of 
the  Millennium ;  while  the  true  import  of  the 
figures  and  symbols  they  contain,  is  discovered 
with  perfect  facility.  "The  true  sense  is  the 
necessary  sense ;"  and  we  only  wonder  when  we 
come  to  perceive  it,  that  we  did  not  perceive  it 
before.  There  are  passages  which,  if  literally  in- 
terpreted, would  go  the  whole  length  of  the  state- 
ment we  have  already  given,  of  the  Pre-Millen- 
nial  Advent;  but  the  question  is,  is  the  literal 
construction  the  fair  and  true  construction ;  or  do 
they  require  some  other  construction,  demanded 
by  the  subject,  and  which  must  necessarily  be 
adopted,  in  order  to  make  the  sacred  writers  con- 
sistent with  themselves  ?  To  affirm  a  literal  con- 
stiuction  of  those  passages  which  are  professedly 
contained  in  the  most  figurative  and  symbolical 
books  of  the  Scriptures,  would  go  far  toward  de- 
stroying all  the  fixed  laws  of  sound  interpretation. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  m 

This  would  be  to  make  prose  of  poetry,  and  bold 
imagery  as  thongli  it  were  doctrinal  statement. 
No  sober  man  ^vonld  interpret  such  passages  as 
one  would  interpret  a  law,  a  deed,  a  contract,  or 
a  last  will  and  testament.  To  do  so  would  be  a 
perversion  of  language,  and  an  outrage  upon  com- 
mon sense  and  common  honesty.  The  true  prin- 
ciple of  interpreting  the  word  of  God,  so  far  as 
the  question  of  literal  construction  is  concerned, 
is  to  interpret  those  passages  literally,  which  their 
authors  designed  should  be  thus  interpreted. 
Enthusiasm  and  ftmaticism  would  have  nothing  to 
restrain  them,  if  allowed  to  put  a  literal  construc- 
tion upon  those  parts  of  the  Bible  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  never  designed  should  receive  such  a 
construction.  If  objects  and  events  are  repre- 
sented to  the  sacred  writers  in  a  vision^  and  are 
described  in  all  the  richness  of  imagery  and  glow 
of  emotion  which  prophetic  pens  could  command ; 
instead  of  overlooking  this  fact  in  our  interpreta- 
tion, we  are  bound,  so  far  as  thought  and  piety 
and  prayer  will  enable  us  to  do  so,  to  enter  into 
their  views  and  emotions.  The  intellect  and  the 
heart  will  then  be  in  perfect  coincidence ;  and  what 
is  true  to  both,  will  be  true  to  the  word  of  God. 

It  is  easy  to  affinn  that  the  prophetic  and 
apocalyptical  writings  which  speak  of  the  Millen- 
nium are  free  from  figures  and  symbols,  and  are 
altogether  literal.     Yet  on  this  mere  assumption 


112  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

rests  tlie  wliole  hypothesis  of  the  pre-millennial 
advent.  The  strength  of  this  argument  lies  in 
this  rigid  and  literal  interpretation,  while  the  pro- 
priety of  such  an  interpretation  has  nothing  in 
the  world  to  support  it,  but  the  strength  with 
which  it  is  repeatedly  asserted. 

As  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  make  use 
of  these  observations  in  the  present  discussion,  we 
will  illustrate  our  meaning.  The  representation, 
for  example,  which  speaks  of  "  all  nations  flowing 
to  Mount  Zion  ;"  which  speaks  of  God's  "gathering 
all  nations  and  tongues,"  and  of  their  "  coming  and 
seeing  his  glory  in  Jerusalem,"  cannot  be  con- 
strued literally,  because  it  is  not  possible  for  all 
nations  ever  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem.  In  view  of 
this  difficulty,  the  advocates  of  this  theory  are 
constrained  to  abandon  their  own  position  of  lit- 
eral construction,  and  to  concede  that  all  nations 
will  thus  worship  at  Jerusalem  in  the  presence  of 
Christ,  only  by  some  selected  representation,  or 
delegation  of  all  nations  !  Their  theory  fails  them ; 
and  if  it  fails  them  in  this  instance,  why  may  it 
not  be  fallible  in  others?  Kindred  prophecies 
speak  of  priests  and  Levites,  and  of  the  offering 
of  sacrifices,  as  under  the  law;  yet  the  Apostle 
Paul  assures  us  that  these  sacrifices  "  have  ceased 
to  be  offered  ;"  that  "  God  hath  taken  them  away ;" 
that  under  the  Christian  dispensation  "  there  is  an 
annulling  of  them;"  and  that  by  "one  ofiPering 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  113 

Christ  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanc- 
tified." If  literalism  is  thus  to  Judaize  the  church 
of  God  in  the  days  of  her  millennial  glory,  may 
we,  with  impunity,  give  it  our  confidence  ?  Paul 
says  to  the  Hebrews,  "Ye  are  Jiot  come  unto  the 
mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that  burneth 
with  fire ;  but  ye  are  come  to  Mount  Zion,  and  unto 
the  City  of  the  Living  God,  the  heavenly  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels." 
This  declaration  is  true ;  but  in  what  sense  is  it 
true  ?  It  is  not  true  that  the  Hebrews  were  lite- 
rally "  come  to  Mount  Zion ;"  for  they  were  a  per- 
secuted people,  scattered  over  Palestine  and  other 
lands.  It  is  not  true  that  they  "  were  come  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels;"  for  they  were 
not  in  heaven  where  angels  dwell.  It  is  not  true 
that  they  "  were  come  to  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of  the  First  Born  which  are  written  in 
heaven,"  "and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect ;"  for  they  were  still  residents  on  the  earth. 
But  it  is  true,  that  instead  of  living  under  the  law 
of  terroi^,  they  were  under  the  gospel  of  peace ; 
instead  of  living  under  the  Mosaic  they  enjoyed 
the  Christian  dispensation ;  instead  of  belonging 
to  the  earthly,  they  were  initiated  into  the  citizen- 
ship of  the  spiritual  Jerusalem :  they  belonged  to 
the  same  society  with  angels,  and  all  holy  men 
living  and  dead ;  were  one  with  them,  under  the 
same  Prince  and  Head,  whose  blood  of  sprinkling 


114  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

had  purchased  for  them  these  rights  and  this  den- 
izenship,  and  to  whom  they  were  all  joined  in  one 
spirit.  Paul  speaks  of  true  believers,  whether 
Jew  or  Gentile,  as  "  the  Israel  of  God ;" — as  "  the 
circumcision  who  worship  God  in  the  spirit ;"  and 
as  "  a  chosen  generation  and  royal  priesthood." 

It  is  yet  more  to  our  purpose  to  remark,  that  not 
a  few  of  those  passages  on  which  pre-millenarians 
rely  for  proof  of  their  doctrine,  are  interpreted  by 
the  Ajjostles  themselves^  not  in  a  literal,  but  a  fig- 
urative sense.  When  James,  at  the  general  Synod 
in  Jerusalem,  quotes  the  passage  from  the  prophet 
Amos,  "  In  that  day  will  I  raise  up  the  tabernacle 
of  David^  and  close  up  the  breaches  thereof,"  he 
expounds  it  as  relating,  not  to  a  temporal  king- 
dom, but  the  Christian  Chui'ch ;  and  makes  use  of 
it  to  prove  the  abolition  of  Jewish  rites.  When 
Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Hebrews,  adverts  to  the 
prediction  of  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  in  which  God 
declares  that  he  will  "  make  a  new  covenant  with 
the  house  of  Israel^  not  according  to  the  covenant 
which  he  made  with  their  Fathers  f  he  refers  to  it 
in  order  to  show  that  the  gospel  dispensation  su- 
persedes the  Jewish,  and  that  the  prediction  itself 
is  accom23lished  in  the  introduction  of  the  gospel 
dispensation.  When  the  same  apostle,  in  writing 
to  the  Galatians,  refers  to  that  emphatic  prophecy 
of  Isaiah,  "Sing  O  barren,  thou  tlmt  didst  not 
bear ;  break  forth  into  singing  thou  that  didst  not 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  II5 

travail  with  child,"  he  applies  it  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment Church,  and  is  instituting  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  church  under  the  new,  with  the  church 
under  the  old  dispensation.  The  following  predic- 
tion in  Hosea,  "  Then  said  God,  Call  his  name  Lo- 
ammi ;  for  ye  are  not  my  peaple^  neither  will  I 
be  your  God ;  yet  the  number  of  the  cMldren  of 
Israel  shall  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  which  can- 
not be  numbered,  nor  measured  ;  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that  in  the  place  where  it  was  said  unto 
them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there  it  shall  be  said 
unto  them.  Ye  also  are  the  sons  of  the  living  God ;" 
the  same  apostle  declares  to  have  been  fulfilled  in 
the  calling  of  the  Gentile  Church.  There  is  no 
truth  more  clearly  revealed  in  the  New  Testament 
than  that,  "  They  are  not  all  Israel  who  are  of 
Israel;  neither  because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham are  they  all  children."  Let  them  belong  to 
what  nation  they  may,  they  are  only  those  who 
are  believers  in  his  Son  who  are  God's  people — • 
"  sometime  afar  off,"  but  "  made  nigh  by  the  blood 
of  Christ."  So  when  the  Prophet  Zechariah  speaks 
of  "  the  man  whose  name  is  the  BrcmclC  as  "  build- 
ing the  Temple" — "  sitting  upon  his  throne" — and 
"  a  Priest  upon  his  throne ;"  we  are  confident  that 
the  prediction  is  not  to  be  intei-preted  literally, 
because  Jesus  Christ  did  not  literally  build  the 
Temple,  nor  literally  sit  upon  the  throne  of  David, 
nor  literally  minister  as  the  High  Priest.     Yet  is 


116  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  prediction  fulfilled  in  the  establishment  and 
extension  of  his  spiritual  kingdom,  and  in  his  min- 
istrations as  the  great  High  Priest  of  the  Christian 
profession.  We  deem  it  of  some  importance  in 
our  argument  that  the  literal  interpretation  of  the 
prophecies  on  the  subject  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom did  not  receive  the  least  countenance  from 
the  Apostles ;  so  far  from  this,  they  gave  them  a 
spiritual  construction,  and  understood  them  figura- 
tively and  in  a  Christian  sense.  Though  not  ver- 
bally and  literally  true,  therefore,  these  and  other 
analogous  predictions  and  descriptions  express 
great  and  precious  truths.  Great  and  precious 
truths  also  are  expressed  by  the  figurative  and 
symbolical  representations  of  the  Millennium, 
truths  which  the  literal  construction  perverts  and 
annihilates. 

The  literal  construction  of  this  subject  is  the 
most  arbitrary  construction  in  the  world.  Such  a 
view  of  human  language  as  this  theory  adopts  is 
incompatible  with  the  very  design  of  language. 
They  are  most  certainly  mistaken  views  which  re- 
sult from  them ;  nor  is  there  any  end  to  the  mis- 
takes which  have  been  made  in  resorting  to  the 
doctrine  of  literal  construction.  If  the  nature  of 
the  subject,  the  object  of  the  sacred  writers,  theii 
consistency  with  themselves,  and  the  analogy  of 
faith  have  anything  to  do  in  interpreting  the  Scrip- 
tures ;    the    arbitrary  law  of  literal  construction 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  II7 

must  be  given  up.  Nor  is  there  any  intimation  in 
any  of  the  scriptural  descriptions  of  the  millennial 
glory  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  the  language  is  to  be 
thus  literally  understood.  We  have  read  labored 
dissertations  on  the  laws  of  symbols  and  meta- 
phors; we  have  observed  the  impatience  their 
authors  manifest  because  the  Christian  w^orld  does 
not  bow  to  this  dictation ;  we  have  noticed  with 
some  surprise  the  indecorous  epithets  with  which 
they  stigmatize  those  who  differ  from  them  as  un- 
learned and  ignorant  men  ;  but  we  have  not  found 
their  system  supported  by  the  Bible.  More  espe- 
cially in  its  application  to  the  supposed  pre-millen- 
nial  advent  of  Christ,  is  it  unsupported  liy  a  single 
proof  text,  a  single  declaration  of  the  Scriptures, 
which,  if  properly  explained,  does  not  sustain  the 
opposite  doctrine.  We  give  them  credit  for  no 
small  ingenuity  and  critical  research,  and  patient 
labor,  and  great  zeal ;  but  they  are  distorted  views 
which  they  express,  and  rest  on  no  secure  founda- 
tion. The  subject  is  not  a  difficult  one,  if  w^e  con- 
sent to  take  the  Scriptures  as  a  whole.  It  is  one 
which  most  certainly  calls  for  a  patient  reading  of 
the  Scriptures ;  but  the  path  of  inquiry  is  a  plain 
and  simple  path.  Our  adorable  Master,  when  he 
spake  of  the  future  w^orld  did  not  speak  in  ambig- 
uous language.  There  is  great  sublimity  in  his 
teaching,  but  no  obscurity,  unless  we  are  on  the 
lookout  for  forced  and  suljtle  interpretations.  All 


118  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

we  ask  is,  tliat  intelligent  and  devout  minds  should 
take  a  common  sense  view  of  the  instructions  of 
the  whole  Bible  on  tkis  subject.  If  it  be  true  that 
the  Son  of  Man  is  to  descend  from  heaven  before 
he  descends  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead  ;  that 
he  is  to  establish  his  throne  in  Jerusalem,  and  there 
introduce  the  worn-out  rites  and  sacrifices  of  the 
Jewish  law,  and  give  his  sanction  to  a  system  of 
services  which  he  himself  abolished  more  than 
eighteen  centuries  ago ;  if  it  be  true  that  he  is  then 
to  raise  the  pious  dead  of  all  generations,  and  that 
they  are  thus  to  reign  with  him  forever  on  this 
earth ;  and  that  those  who  are  alive  at  his  advent 
are  to  remain  in  immortal  and  unglorified  bodies, 
and  to  perpetuate  their  race ;  we  have  a  right  to 
demand  chapter  and  verse  for  such  theories. 

It  must  be  a  forced  construction  of  the  Bible, 
a  forced  literalism  and  a  forced  symbolization 
combined,  that  proves  such  things  as  these.  If 
they  seem  to  be  contained  in  the  words  of  the 
sacred  writers,  taken  by  themselves,  they  express 
a  sense  which  the  writers  themselves  never  enter- 
tained. They  are  errors  of  no  ordinary  kind,  and 
lead  to  errors  still  more  seductive,  and  that  wax 
worse  and  worse.  We  marvel  not  a  little  that 
their  advocates  are  not  alarmed  for  their  own  hal- 
lucination, and  do  not  shrink  from  the  abyss  into 
which  they  are  plunging.  It  is  due,  not  to  the 
boldness  of  which  these  discussions  are  a  speci- 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  119 

men,  but  to  the  sober  thoughts  of  the  Christian 
community,  and  their  love  of  the  truth,  that  these 
errors  have  not  more  deeply  imbued  the  American 
mind.  There  are  those  who  have  listened  to  them 
and  followed  them ;  but  we  are  not  without  hope, 
that,  like  others  who  have  listened  and  followed 
for  a  while,  they  will  be  glad  to  return,  with  elas- 
tic force,  to  the  plain  and  safe  instructions  of  the 
Bible. 

11.  Our  second  objection  to  the  theory  is,  that 
it  obscures  the  spirituality  of  Chrisfs  hingdom. 
Jesus  Christ  has  now  a  kingdom  on  the  earth.  It 
has  been  long  established  in  this  apostate  world ; 
has  attained  to  great  enlargement,  and  will  even- 
tually cover  the  earth.  When  the  great  Founder 
of  it  left  this  world,  his  kingdom  did  not  die. 
When  apostles  and  martyrs  died,  this  kingdom 
lived.  When  the  reformers  died,  still  it  lived. 
When  we  and  other  generations  die,  it  will  live 
still.  "  Of  the  increase  of  this  kingdom  and  govern- 
ment there  shall  be  no  end.  Christ  must  reigu 
until  all  things  are  put  under  his  feet."  It  is  the 
same  kingdom  now  which  existed  in  the  days  that 
are  past ;  it  will  be  the  same  kingdom  during  the 
millennium  ;  the  same  forever.  It  does  not  change 
like  the  kingdoms  of  time ;  it  is  "  A  KINGDOM 
WHICH  CANNOT  BE  MOVED."  Its  Prince, 
its  subjects,  its  laws,  its  privileges,  its  rewards,  are 
ever  the  same.     It  began  in   Jerusalem,   is  now 


120  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

being  extended  over  the  earth,  and  will  be  more 
extended  in  the  latter  days,  and  perpetuated  in 
heaven. 

The  great  characteristic  of  this  kingdom  is, 
that  it  is  a  spiritual^  in  distinction  from  a  tempoi'al 
and  visible  reign.  When  the  Saviour  founded  it, 
he  made  the  open  avowal,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world."  When  his  disciples  misunderstood 
its  nature,  he  instructed  them  by  the  declaration, 
"The  kingdom  of  God  is  xoitliiii  you."  When 
the  opinion  was  prevalent  that  it  was  limited  to  a 
particular  locality,  he  uttered  the  truth,  "the 
hour  cometh  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  moun- 
tain, nor  in  Jerusalem  worship  the  Father.  God 
is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  wor- 
ship him  in  spirit  and  in  truths  When  men 
looked  for  its  advancement  amid  the  pompous 
decorations  of  earth  and  earthly  power,  he  told 
them,  "  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  ob- 
servation." When  two  of  his  favored  followers 
preferred  the  request  that  they  "  might  sit,  the 
one  on  his  right  hand  and  the  other  on  his  left  in 
his  kingdom,"  he  rej^lied,  "  Ye  know  not  what  ye 
ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  ciq)  that  I  shall 
drink  of,  and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I 
am  baptized  with  ?"  He  told  them  all  that  they 
should  live  and  reign  with  him,  but  that  it  should 
not  be  here  in  this  world ;  but  that  both  they 
and  all  his  followers  to  the  end  of  time,  should 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  121 

reign  with  him  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  He 
never  intimated  to  them  that  they  should  leave 
those  high  abodes,  and  that  angel  presence,  and 
those  blissful  interchanges  of  thought  and  affec- 
tion, and  that  overshadowing  of  the  ineffable 
glory,  and  come  down  to  reign  on  this  earth 
doomed  to  fire.  He  desired  they  should  reign 
with  him,  and  where  he  reigned.  His  prayer  for 
those  who  were  first  given  to  him,  and  for  "  all 
those  who  should  believe  on  him  through  their 
word,"  was,  that  "  they  might  be  with  him  ivliere 
lie  is,  and  behold  his  glory." 

This  great  characteristic  of  his  kingdom,  its 
holy  and  divine  sjyirituality,  is  made  as  prominent 
as  the  Sci'iptures  can  make  it.  The  passages  mul- 
tiply on  every  side,  Avhich  assert  and  illustrate 
this  great  and  important  thought.  Light  and 
love  are  its  distinctive  features ;  wherever  these 
are  found,  there  is  his  kingdom  ;  and  though  they 
exist  in  an  imperfect  state  in  the  present  world, 
there  exist  here  the  elementary  preparations  for 
it  in  heaven.  This  gi'eat  truth,  therefore,  is  to  be 
carried  into  all  our  interpretations  of  those  Scrip- 
tures which  speak  of  his  kingdom,  whether  now 
existing  on  the  earth,  or  existing  during  the 
millennium. 

The  glory  of  this  spiritual  reign  is  expressed  to 
us  not  unfrequently  by  figures  and  emblems  and 
symbols  addressed  to  our  senses,  because  we  are 


122  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

creatures  of  sense.  They  are  iustructive  and  af- 
fecting rej^resentations,  if  we  cany  this  great 
truth  along  with  us  in  order  to  interpret  them ; 
but  without  this,  we  make  havoc  of  the  word  of 
God.  This  great  truth  is  worth  all  the  literalism 
and  all  the  algebraic  laws  of  synibolization  in  the 
world.  No  man  supposes  that  the  sea  of  glass, — 
the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem, — the  river  of 
life, — the  trees  on  its  banks, — the  terraces  of  the 
city  sparkling  with  precious  stones, — the  gates  of 
pearl, — the  harps  of  gold  and  the  white  linen  of 
the  saints,  are  anything  more  than  emUems  of 
the  beauty,  purity,  and  bliss  of  this  heavenly  and 
spiritual  kingdom.  Nor  does  any  man  suppose 
that  when  the  same  writer,  in  the  same  meta- 
phorical language,  speaks  of  an  "angel  coming 
down  from  heaven,  having  the  key  of  the  bottom- 
less pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand,"  and  of  his 
"laying  hold  on  the  Dragon,  that  old  Serpent, 
and  binding  him  a  thousand  years,  and  casting 
him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  setting  a  seal 
upon  him,"  that  there  was  literally  any  such 
angely — or  ^^y, — or  chain^ — or  dragon^ — or  seal. 
The  meaning  is,  that  the  time  is  coming  when 
Satan's  power  on  the  earth  shall  be  divinely  and 
effectively  restrained.  And  when  the  same  writer 
proceeds  in  the  next  sentence  to  say  that  he  "  saw 
thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them ;  and  the  souls 
of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  123 

Jesus  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  wbicli  had 
not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image, 
neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  fore- 
heads, nor  in  their  hands  ;  and  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years  ;"*  no  one 
supposes  that  these  were  literal  thrones  ;  nor  any 
person  that  sat  upon  them  ;  nor  any  least ;  nor 
image  ;  nor  any  marh  upon  the  forehead  or  hands. 
It  was  all  a  vision,  and  was  designed  to  teach 
such  truths  as  enlightened  and  devout  minds 
would  receive.  The  writer  is  speaking  of  the 
thousand  years  when  the  power  of  Satan  should 
not  only  be  restricted,  but  the  power  of  piety  re- 
\dved,  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  greatly  ad- 
vanced. The  whole  passage  cannot  be  understood 
literally,  without  the  most  preposterous  conclu- 
sions. We  have  a  key  that  unlocks  the  whole,  in 
the  spirituality  of  Chrisfs  hingdom^  in  all  its  pro- 

*  ;?«'  E'C,r}attv  xai  itjuoLlsvauv  /jstu  %qi'Qu  //^t«  sir/. — "  Hoc  uon 
ita  intelligendum,  quasi  ipsi  illi  pii  martyres,  qui  olim  pro  Christo 
religione  supplicia  sustinuerant,  essent  revicturi,  et  regnaturi 
cum  Christo.  Sed  figurare  et  in  imagine  quadam  exprimitur 
florens  conditio  reipublicse  christiano,  quae  tanta  erit,  ac  si  prisci 
martyres  sepulcris  revocati,  hisce  in  terris  tranquille  iterum 
viverent.  Cum  Christo  regnare  significat  magnam  felicitatem  in 
regno  Christi  in  his  terris,  Et  inteUigendum  hoc  est  de  ecclesia 
ipsa,  non  de  singulis  t^us  membris.  Itaque  hoc  vult  Joannes, 
fccclesiara,  quae  diu  vitiata  et  corrupta  erat  in  suis  membris,  ita  fore 
comparatam,  quasi  excitata  fuerit  e  mortuis,  ac  denuo  revixerit." — 

ROSENMULLER  ScHOLIA  IN  ApOCALYPSIN,  ch,  XX.  V.  4. 


124  I'HE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

gress  through  the  millennmm.  It  was  a  most 
beautiful  vision  ;  it  was  piety  predominant  on  the 
earth;  it  was  the  spirit  of  noble  and  martyred 
men  living  in  their  successors ;  men  who  had  no 
alliance  with  antichristian  powers,  or  with  wicked- 
ness. It  was  a  resurrection  of  long-decayed  prin- 
ciples in  the  hearts  of  the  blessed  and  the  holy, 
living  and  reigning  with  Christ  on  the  earth,  as 
he  had  not  lived  and  reigned  since  the  days  of 
Pentecost;  as  indeed  he  had  never  lived  and 
reigned  before.  It  was  a  neio  creation  in  which 
God  creates  Jerusalem  a  rejoicing,  and  her  people 

a  joy. 

Premillenarians  insist  on  a  literal  construction 
of  a  vision !  Very  well ;  we  hold  them  to  this 
construction.  What  was  it  that  John  saw  ?  "  I 
saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the 
witness  of  Jesus."  H©  did  not  see  the  bodies  of 
these  witnesses.  It  was  owt  therefore  a  bodily 
resurrection.  Literalists  should  abide  the  conse- 
quence of  their  own  rigid  interpretation  ;  if  they 
do  so,  so  far  as  this  passage  is  concerned,  they  must 
confess  their  error.  John  says  of  these  souls 
that  they  lived,  not  that  they  lived  again  :*  he 
simply  saw  the  souls  of  the  witnesses  alive. 
Their  testimony  was  living;  there  was  a  new 
race  of  tvitnesses  for  the  truth.  No,  it  was  not 
the  hodies  and  persons  of  departed  saints  which 

*   s^7]aav^  not  avs'Qjjauf. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  125 

were  seen  rising  from  the  mighty  abyss  of  the 
past.  They  were  the  souls  that  were  thus  seen 
coming  up — everywhere  coming  uj:) — from  the 
gulf  of  bygone  ages.  They  were  souls  which 
never  die,  and  of  which  no  literal  resurrection 
can  be  predicted ;  they  were  minds,  bright,  and 
pure,  and  spiritual  minds,  multiplying  on  the 
earth,  influencing  it  by  their  piety,  enjoying  un- 
wonted fellowship  with  their  exalted  Saviour, 
Mling  in  and  co-operating  with  his  designs  of 
mercy,  and  extending  his  dominion  over  the  chil- 
dren of  men. 

Nothing  is  more  obvious  than  that  the  theory  of 
Christ's  premillennial  advent  and  personal  reign, 
obscures  the  beautiful  spiiituality  of  his  kingdom. 
We  are  told  that  when  he  comes,  thei-e  is  to  be  a 
splendid  and  magnificent  temple  erected  for  him 
on  Mount  Zion;  that  Jerusalem  is  to  be  reljuilt, 
and  enlarged,  and  adorned  with  magnificence ;  that 
"  he  is  literally  to  assail  his  enemies  with  the  in- 
struments of  destruction,"  and  ^^figlit  with  them 
as  he  fought  in  the  day  of  battle,"  and  thus  show- 
ing himself  the  great  warrior  of  his  age.  So 
thought  the  Jews  in  relation  to  our  Lord's  first 
advent.  They  were  literalists ;  nothing  suited 
their  taste  but  the  visible  manifestations  of  tem- 
poral royalt}^  Christ's  own  disciples  were  imbued 
with  this  expectation,  even  after  his  resurrection, 
and  until  after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  they 


126  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

were  in  the  highest  sense  "endued  with  power 
from  on  high."  We  know  how  prejudicial  this 
notion  was  to  the  early  propagation  of  the  gospel ; 
nor  is  the  theory  of  modern  literalists  less  ruin- 
ous. The  day  of  Pentecost  effected  a  radical 
cure  of  this  evil  in  the  minds  of  the  disciples ; 
and  we  marvel  not  a  little  that  the  glorious  "  min- 
istration of  the  Spirit,"  does  not  eradicate  the 
kindred  error  from  the  minds  of  those  who  are  so 
intent  on  the  personal  and  premillennial  advent  of 
the  Son  of  Man. 

How  adverse  is  all  this  from  the  millennial 
reign  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  described  in  the 
Scriptures !  Give  his  spiritual  kingdom  the  place 
Avhich  the  Bible  gives  it,  and  yon  kill  this  theory 
at  once.  It  has  nothing  to  support  it  but  a  vain 
imagination,  that  congratulates  itself  in  an  empire 
decked  with  all  the  gorgeous  royalty  of  this  world, 
rather  than  one  which  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but 
"  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
The  world  has  seen  in  recent  treatises  from  the 
press,  how  such  an  imagination  misinterprets  that 
sweet  passage,  "  The  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them  to  liv- 
ing fountains  of  water,  and  God  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes."  One  would  scarcely 
believe  that  an  intelligent  writer  would,  from  such 
a  passage,  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  prophet  is 
speaking  of  literal  nutriment  to  the   body ;    yet 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  127 

such  is  the  fact.  Why  not  carry  the  principle 
through,  and  affirm  that  when  the  Psalmist  says, 
"  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures,  he 
leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters,"  the  language 
is  to  be  literally  interpreted  ?  Why  not  apply  it 
to  the  words  of  Paul,  when  he  says,  "  I  have  fed 
you  with  milk,  and  not  with  strong  meat,  because 
hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it  ?"  Is  it  not 
better  to  let  the  Scriptures  interpret  their  own 
metaphors?  There  is  no  more  difficulty  in  inter- 
preting the  passage,  "  In  this  mountain  hath  the 
Lord  of  hosts  spread  a  feast  of  fat  things,  of 
wines  on  the  lees,  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow, 
of  wines  on  the  lees  well  refined,"  than  there  is  in 
interpreting  the  passage,  "  I  will  give  them  pas- 
tors after  mine  own  heart,  who  shall  feed  them 
with  hnoivledge  and  understanding.''''  We  have 
no  confidence  in  such  views  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  His  designs  are  above  this.  The  gospel 
will  not  have  free  course,  nor  Christians  be  com- 
forted and  instructed,  nor  God's  enemies  humbled 
and   subdued   by   such   prospects. 

Y/e  may  not  utter  all  the  objections  in  their 
full  force  to  this  sentimental,  tender,  and  pa- 
thetic theory.  We  are  instructed  by  the  great 
Teacher,  that  "  except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kine^dom  of  God."  Some  of 
the  features  of  modern  Millenarians  are  not  diffi- 
cult to  be  seen;   nor  are  they  altogether  revolt- 


128  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

ing  to  tlie  natural  heart.  We  are  told  that  "  that 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  ;"  nor  may 
we  forget  the  truth  that  in  the  resurrection 
"  ihej  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage, 
but  are  as  the  angels  of  God."  It  is  the  anti- 
spiritual  view  of  Christ's  kingdom  which  imparts 
attractiveness  to  it  which  God  himself  has  not 
given.  We  do  not  wonder  that  a  theory  which 
thus  addresses  itself  to  creatures  of  sense  should 
produce  excitement  in  the  world.  We  do  not 
wonder  at  the  preposterous  views  concerning  it 
in  the  first  three  centuries,  nor  that  it  sunk  in 
silence  under  the  burden  of  its  own  unworthiness 
and  absurdities.  We  do  not  wonder  at  the  wick- 
edness of  the  Anabaptists  of  Munster,  nor  at  the 
legal  enactments  against  them  ;  nor  at  the  tragical 
issue  of  the  "  celestial  republic"  of  John  of  Leyden. 
Nor  are  we  surprised  at  the  extravagances  of  the 
men  of  the  "  Fifth  Monarchy,"  during  the  time  of 
Cromwell,  establishing  a  "  heavenly  kingdom"  on 
earth,  which  was  the  resort  of  Deism,  infidelity, 
and  crime.  Nor  do  later  errors  of  the  same  gene- 
ral family  in  our  own  land  surprise  us.  We  re- 
spectfully submit  to  good  men,  who,  though  they 
disclaim  all  participation  in  principles  thus  luinous, 
yet  advocate  this  anti-spiritual  and  literal  theory; 
whether  the  fundamental  principle  of  their  system 
does  not  lead  to  such  results,  and  whether  the  sys- 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  129 

tern  they  now  oppose  and  which  the  Bible  advo- 
cates, is  not  the  safer  system  ? 

III.  A  third  objection  to  this  theory  is  that  it 
gives  undue  mid  wiivarranted  influence  to  tlie  mere 
Personal  presence  of  Christ  in  the  conversion  of 
the  iDorld.  It  does  not  assign  its  proper  place  to 
the  agencies  in  this  work  which  already  exist,  and 
which  God  himself  has  appointed.  When  the  Son 
of  God  ascended  up  on  high,  he  bequeathed  to  his 
church  all  the  agencies  that  are  required  for  the 
extension  and  final  triumph  of  his  spiritual  king- 
dom on  the  earth.  These  are  the  truths  of  his 
GOSPEL  and  the  omnipotent  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Just  in  the  measure  in  which  these  are 
enjoyed  will  men  turn  from  the  error  of  their 
ways  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just.  We  hold  this  to 
be  a  truth  of  universal  application — everywhere 
and  always^  in  Christian,  Antichristian,  and  Pagan 
lands,  in  present  and  future  ages,  down  through  the 
millennium  and  to  the  end  of  time.  Just  in  the 
measure  in  which  men  withhold  the  gospel  from 
their  fellow-men,  and  God  withholds  his  Spirit, 
will  they  everywhere  and  cdways^  remain  "  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins."  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  and  one  which  is  illustrated  in  every  page 
of  the  world's  history,  and  deeply  written  in  the 
hearts  of  all  the  people  of  God.  No  doctrine  is 
more  important,  or  more  inseparable  from  the  ex- 
istence of  true  piety,  or  from  the  gospel  itself  In 
6* 


130  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  same  proportion  in  wliicli  this  doctrine  is  ob- 
scured, the  glory  of  the  Prince  and  Saviour  is  cast 
into  the  shade  or  sunk  in  total  eclipse ;  in  the  same 
proportion  in  which  it  is  denied,  the  great  moral 
argument  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  Christianity- 
loses  its  force,  and  the  last  and  most  brilliant  chain 
in  the  series  of  facts  on  which  it  rests  is  broken. 

This  is  one  of  the  grounds  on  which  we  stand  in 
our  opposition  to  the  supposed  premilleunium  ad- 
vent. We  might  have  said  more  than  that  this 
theory  does  not  assign  its  proper  place  to  the  truth 
and  Spirit  of  God ;  but  we  should  do  violence  to 
our  own  feelings  to  say  more  of  those  whom  we 
have  long  known  as  the  advocates  of  evangelical 
truth.  Yet  when  a  i-ecent  and  able  writer^'  made 
this  objection  to  the  views  on  which  we  were  ani- 
madverting, the  leading  organ  in  the  expression 
of  those  views  in  this  countryf  repelled  the  impu- 
tation with  indignant  sensitiveness.  Let  us  see 
how  this  matter  stands,  and  whether,  according  to 
their  own  showing,  tins  indignant  disclaimer  will 
avail  them.  We  affirm  that  they  deny  the  suffi- 
ciency of  God\8  revealed  truth  in  the  conversion  of 
men  ;  because  they  declare  that  at  the  period  when 
the  Jewish  and  Gentile  nations  are  to  be,  as  they 
suppose,  assembled  at  Jerusalem,  God  "  is  to  give 
them  new  revelations^  and  institute  new  laws  ;"J 

*  Princeton  Repertory  for  April,  1851. 

t  Theological  and  Literary  Journal — sparsim.  \  lb. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I3I 

that  "  he  is  to  make  new  communications  of  his 
will ;"  and  that  "  these  revelations  of  himself  will 
be  more  efficient  means  than  any  others^*  Is  not 
this  a  plain  denial  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  Holy- 
Scriptures,  and  does  it  not  unite  all  manner  of  pre- 
tensions to  a  new  revelation  ?  God  declares  that 
his  word  "  is  able  to  make  men  wise  unto  salva- 
tion ;"  this  theor}^  declares  that  it  is  not  able.  God 
declares  that  "  Christ  crucified  is  the  power  of 
God ;"  this  theory  makes  the  bold  demand,  "  What 
can  exceed  the  error  that  the  cause  in  which 
Christ  suffered  cannot  prevail  and  be  victorious, 
unless  the  work  is  entrusted  by  him  entirely  to 
his  cross  ?"f  And  again  it  declares  that  "  if  Christ 
is  not  to  come  anterior  to  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  it  is  never  to 
be  con  verted."  { 

We  have  the  same  error  expressed  in  somewhat 
a  different  form.  We  are  told  that  in  order  to 
"bring  the  whole  race  to  a  full  discernment  of  God\s 
heing  will  obviously  demand  means  far  more  influ- 
ential than  any  that  have  hitherto  been  employed ;" 
"  that  it  will  doubtless  require  the  use  of  extraor- 
dinary means" — "  new  and  peculiar  means,"  with- 
out which  the  nations  "must  fail  of  adequate 
views."§  Is  not  this  an  avowal  of  their  belief  that 
there  are  to  be  new  means  of  grace  and  salvation  ? 

*  See  Theolog.  and  Lit.  Journal,  Nos.  7  and  9. 

t  II).  No.  9,  p.  27.  X  lb.  p.  18.  §  lb. 


132  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Nor  do  tliese  writers  leave  us  i 
what  these  new  and  extraordinary  means  are. 
They  are  comprised  in  the  msihle  and  personal  ap- 
pearing  and  manifestation  of  Christ  on  this  earth. 
They  speak  of  "  the  necessity  of  Christ's  interpo- 
sition to  make  the  gospel  efficacious,"  and  of  his 
"  interposing  to  convince  and  convert  the  nations." 
They  affirm  that  "  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  God  to 
give  essentially  any  greater  efficacy  to  the  means 
of  grace  than  he  heretofore  has  given,"  until  Christ 
comes  in  Person  ;*  that  "  the  universal  prevalence 
of  religion  to  be  hereafter  enjoyed  is  not  to 
be  effected  by  any  increased  impetus  given  to  the 
present  means  of  evangelizing  the  nations,  but  by 
a  stupendous  display  of  divine  wrath  upon  all  the 
"  apostate  and  ungodly ;"— that  "  the  kingdom  and 
universal  church  are  to  be  estal)lished,  not  by  grad- 
ual conversion  more  or  less  rapid  under  this  dis- 
pensation, but  by  the  Personal  advent  of  our  Lord 
himself,  and  all  the  remarkable  events  that  accom- 
pany it ;" — that  "  the  rectifying  comes  at  last,  not 
by  mercy,  but  by  judgment ;  not  by  the  sowing  of 
grace,  but  by  the  sickle  of  vengeance ;  not  by  the 
extension  of  the  gospel  and  the  labors  of  its  min 
isters,  or  any  gracious  instrumentality  now  at 
tvorh^  but  by  the  angels  of  God  who  are  to  accom- 
pany the  Son  of  Man  at  his  advent ;"  and  that  "  it 
will  consist  not  in  resowing  but  in  reaping  the 

*   Theolog.  and  Lit.  Journal,  No.  15,  p.  15. 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I33 

field."*  Nor  may  this  class  of  writers  protect 
themselves  from  the  charge  of  error  by  saying 
that  all  they  mean  is,  that  these  visible  manifesta- 
tions arrest  the  attention^  and  wake  up  the  minds 
of  men  to  the  divine  claims ;  for  they  expressly 
affirm  that  they  "  are  to  excite  love  and  submis- 
siony-f 

While  therefore  the  advocates  of  the  Personal 
Reign  repel  this  attendant  upon  their  views,  it 
must  recoil  upon  them  as  a  necessary  result  of 
their  theory.  When  the  question  is  asked.  Will 
the  Personal  appearing  of  Christ  on  the  earth  ex- 
ert no  salutary  influence  ?  Is  it  unnatural  to  sup- 
pose that  it  should  occasion  an  overwhelming 
sense  of  guilt  in  not  having  believed  on  him  ;  and 
a  realization  of  the  necessity  of  submission,  faith, 
and  love  in  order  to  salvation  ?  To  this  we  reply 
in  the  language  of  Christ  himself,  "  When  he^  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  convince  the 
world  of  sin."  The  Scriptures  represent  all  true 
conviction  of  sin  as  produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  Lord,  make  me  to  know  my  transgression  and 
my  sin."  We  reply  further,  that  these  outward 
manifestations  will  not  of  themselves  exert  the 
Jeast  influence  in  the  conversion  of  men.     Were 

*  The  author  is  indebted  for  these  last  three  quotations  from 
the  raillenarian  writers  to  an  able  article  in  the  Princeton  Reper- 
tory for  Apiil,  1851. 

f  Theolog.  and  Lit.  Journal,  No.  7. 


134  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

he  to  come  again  in  the  flesh,  his  Personal  pres- 
ence would  have  no  more  influence  in  subduing 
the  hearts  of  his  enemies  than  it  had  on  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim,  or  Pontius  Pilate.  It  might 
awaken  the  attention  of  men,  it  might  produce  the 
faith  of  the  "intellect ;  but  it  would  not  touch  the 
heart  of  rebellion.  The  solemn  truth  seems  to  be 
lost  sight  of  that  men  are  blind  and  dead  in  sin, 
and  that  no  objective  light  converts  the  soul. 
Here  lies  the  fallacy  of  the  Premillenarian  system 
in  this  particular  article  of  its  faith.  It  supposes 
that  the  unbelief  of  men  is  to  be  attributed  to 
the  want  of  objective  light ;  whereas  the  true 
cause  is  subjective  darkness  and  sin.  Unbelief  is 
never  owing  to  the  want  of  evidence,  but  to  the 
want  of  an  obedient  heart.  The  burning  splendor 
of  the  Millennium  in  its  meridian  glory  would 
not  convert  a  soul  to  God,  unless  the  power  of  the 
Highest  came  down  upon  it,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
take  away  the  heart  of  stone  and  give  the  heart 
of  flesh.  To  do  tltis  it  is  not  necessary  that  Christ 
be  personally  present ;  his  personal  presence  is 
supposed  to  be  confined  to  Jerusalem.  Yet  he 
can  do  this  in  the  Millennium  just  as  he  did  it  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  It  will  be  no  more  diflicult 
for  him  to  convert  the  nations  then  than  it  was 
for  him  to  convert  Saul  of  Tarsus.  This  supposed 
eflScacy  of  his  Personal  j^resence  is  the  merest  as- 
sumption in  the  world.     It  is  worse,  because  it  is 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I35 

fjilse  doctrine.  The  rich  man  in  the  parable 
thought  that  if  one  should  go  from  the  dead  to 
his  brethren,  they  would  repent.  The  abettors 
of  this  theory,  though  they  mean  not  so,  are  fur- 
nishing the  world  a  new  apology  for  its  unbelief, 
and  are  unwittingly  throwing  up  a  strong  en- 
trenchment to  defend  the  infidelity  of  the  human 
heart.  The  faith  of  the  gospel  consists  in  believ- 
ing it  as  it  is  revealed.  If  the  light  of  truth  is 
so  essentially  defective,  men  are  justified  in  wait- 
ing for  more  evidence.  It  is  not  defective. 
Men  deceive  themselves  when  they  suppose  that 
Christ's  Personal  presence  will  produce  convictions 
that  are  not  produced  by  that  gospel  which  is 
now  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  God  has 
already  given  the  world  the  best  means  of  grace  ; 
if  Christ's  personal  presence  had  been  more  ef- 
fective, he  would  never  have  left  the  earth  and 
committed  his  kingdom  here  to  the  Comforter. 
The  reason  why  he  did  not  remain  was,  that  he  had 
selected  a  more  excellent  way,  and  a  more  fittino- 
agent.  Nor  has  he  seen  fit  to  amend,  or  alter 
this  arrangement;  nor  will  he  during  the  Mil- 
lennium. The  "  Ministration  of  the  Spirit"  is  to 
introduce  and  perfect  that  era  of  glory,  and  is  to 
continue  until  the  last  heir  of  his  spiritual  King- 
dom is  gathered  in.  There  will  be  no  other  dis- 
pensation until  the  unchanging  dispensation  of 
eternity.     The   presence   of  the    Comforter  was 


136  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

forever  to  supersede  tlie  presence  of  Christ  among 
men ;  and  therefore  it  "  was  expedient  that  he 
should  go  away."  In  this  beautiful  feature  of  his 
.  redemption,  the  Millenarians  have  a  controversy 
with  Christ.  Their  theory  is  a  fiction  of  their 
own,  however  ardent  the  piety  from  which  it  may 
flow,  and  however  attractive  to  the  imagination. 
What  should  induce  them  to  believe,  that  the 
Personal  presence  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  Jerusa- 
lem, or  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  or  on  the  throne 
of  j  udgment,  or  anywhere  else,  would  be  rightly 
regarded  by  men  who  will  not  regard  the  testi- 
mony of  God  in  his  word,  it  is  not  easy  to  di- 
vine. "  Let  not  God  speak  with  us  lest  we  die." 
God  told  Moses  he  could  not  behold  the  fulness  of 
his  glory  ;  no  man  can  see  his  face  and  live.  His 
presence  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  made  his 
own  disciples  afraid.  The  wicked  would  be  filled 
with  terror  at  such  a  view ;  they  would  tremble 
and  turn  pale ;  they  would  cry  to  the  rocks  and  the 
mountains  to  fall  upon  them ;  but  they  would 
neither  love,  nor  adore  him.  The  man  who  remains 
unconvinced  and  at  enmity  with  God,  unsanctified 
and  hopeless  amid  all  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  and 
in  this  world  of  the  eftusions  of  the  divine  Spirit, 
and  amid  these  consecrated  altars  and  ordinances, 
will  not  find  holiness  and  hope  from  such  scenes. 
Such  scenes  would  disclose  nothing  more  than  is 
already  revealed  in  the  Bible ;  they  would  only 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I37 

be  the  Bible  over  again,  except  under  circum- 
stances not  so  well  fitted  to  be  the  subject  of 
serious  reflection,  or  to  impress  the  mind.  Christ's 
Personal  presence  is  superfluous  to  the  great  ob- 
jects which  the  Scriptural  Millennium  aims  at. 
Christians  in  the  Millennium,  as  in  all  asres,  will 
walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  A  spiritual  mind 
needs  nothing  more  than  faith's  view  ;  it  asks  no 
more  than  those  views  of  Christ  which  are  here 
imparted  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Wh}^  should  they 
desire  his  Personal  reign  in  the  Millennium  ?  Faith 
will  then  exert  its  high  moral  influences  on  them- 
selves, and  on  all  their  eftbrts  for  the  advancement 
of  their  ascended  Saviour's  glory.  "  Because  thou 
hast  seen  me^  thou  hast  believed  ;  Messed  are  they 
who  have  not  seen^  and  yet  believed."  It  is  the  high 
character  of  saving  faith,  to  believe  in  an  unseen 
Saviour :  "  whom  having  not  seen^  we  love ;  in 
whom,  though  now  we  see  him  not,  yet  believ- 
ing, we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory." 

IV.  Our  fourth  objection  to  this  theory  is,  that 
it  denies  the  General  Judgment^  and  the  final  de- 
struction of  this  mcffericd  world.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary for  us  to  prove  that  "  God  hath  appointed  a 
Day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness ;"  that  "  the  dead,  small,  and  great  shall 
stand  before  God ;"  that  "  the  sea  shall  give  up 
the  dead  which  are  in  it,  and  death  and  hell  de- 


138  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

liver  up  tlie  dead  which  are  in  them ;"  that  be- 
fore the  Son  of  Man  shall  at  last  "  be  gathered 
all  nations,"  and  that  he  shall  "  separate  them  one 
from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  the  sheep 
from  the  goats ;"  and  that  the  sentence  shall  then 
be  carried  into  execution  by  which  "  these  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal."  Nor  do  we  suppose 
that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  prove,  that  at  the 
close  of  this  scene,  "  the  heavens  shall  vanish 
away  "like  smoke,  and  the  earth  shall  wax  old 
like  a  garment;"  that  the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  "  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat,  and  the  earth  also,  and 
all  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burnt  up;" 
that  all  these  things  shall  be  "  dissolved,"  and  that 
"  before  the  face  of  him  who  sits  upon  the  throne, 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  flee  away,  and 
there  shall  be  found  no  place  for  them." 

There  are  so  many  important  ends  in  the  divine 
government  to  be  secured  by  this  arrangement, 
that  to  deny  it  is  a  virtual  attempt  to  disturb  the 
pillars  by  which  it  is  supported,  mar  its  symmetry, 
and  deface  its  beauty.  No  judgment  of  individual 
men,  as  such,  or  individual  nations,  can  answer  the 
end  of  a  general  judgment.  That  man  does  not 
preach  the  same  gospel  which  Christ  and  his  Apos- 
tles preached  who  denies,  or  even  obscures  this 
great  truth.     We  have  all  our  lifetime  read  the 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  139 

Scriptures  in  vain,  if  they  do  not  instruct  us  that 
Christ's  second  coming  is  hi-s  coming  to  the  judg- 
ment, and  if  they  do  not  connect  the  final  and 
irrevocable   sentence   of  the   righteous   and   the 
wicked  with  his  second  coming.    They  speak  only 
of  ix  first  and  second  coming;  the  first  to  save,  the 
second  to  judge.     The  twentieth  chapter  of  the 
Revelation  makes  it  perfectly  clear,  that  his  com- 
ing to  judgment  is  after  the  Millennium.     If  his 
coming  to  judgment  is  his  -second  coming,  there  is 
no  such  event  revealed  therefore  as  his  Premillen- 
nial  Advent.     There  is  no  Advent  until  the  judg- 
ment, and  this  will  be  the  second  and  the  last. 
The  great  event  which  the  departed  of  all  ages  are 
next  to  look  for  is  not  the  coming  of  their  Divine 
Lord  to  establish  a  kingdom  on  the  earth  and  there 
to  reign  with  him ;  it  is  the  judgment.  "  It  is  appoint- 
ed unto  men  once  to  die ;  aftei'  that  the  judgment." 
It  is  not  his  coming  to  introduce,  and  extend  and 
perpetuate  his  reign  on  the  earth ;  but  to  bring  it 
to  its  august  conclusions,  and  announce  the  issues  of 
that  kingdom  which  he  set  up  when  he  rose  from 
the  dead.     It  is  not  to  convert  his  enemies,  but  to 
bring  his  kingdom  of  grace  on  the  earth  to  an  end 
and  pronounce  the  sentence  that  puts  their  con- 
version beyond  hope.    It  is  to  erect  the  indestruc- 
tible barrier  between  eternity  and  time  by  striking 
time  out  of  existence,  and  then  sinking  the  impass- 
able gulf     The  Scriptures  utter  these  truths  as' 


140  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

among  the  most  important  tliey  ever  utter ;  so  that 
men  may  appreciate  the  privileges  of  the  kingdom 
which  Christ  has  ah-eady  set  up  in  the  world ;  may 
know  the  value  of  time  while  it  lasts,  and  the  true 
worth  of  this  world  before  it  shall  melt  away  with 
fervent  heat. 

Yet  these  truths  are  denied  by  the  Premillen- 
nial  theory.  It  does  indeed  recognize  a  judgment, 
but  no  such  "  Great  Day"  of  judgment  as  that  to 
which  the  Scriptures  give  such  emphasis.  It 
makes  the  judgment  consist  in  the  personal  rule 
and  autlwrity  of  Christ  during  the  tliousand  years. 
It  does  this  professedly,  and  as  it  seems  to  us,  treats 
with  disdain  and  contempt  the  idea  of  the  General 
Judgment.  It  argues  this  question  deliberately 
and  calls  upon  us  to  prove,  that  when  Christ 
affirms  that  he  will  gather  all  nations  before  him 
in  order  to  hear  his  sentence  and  their  doom,  he 
means  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We  have  no 
desire  to  prove  so  plain  a  truth,  except  by  such 
Scriptures  as  we  have  just  referred  to.  Men  who 
deny  the  plain  and  obvious  sense  of  such  declara- 
tions, and  yet  whose  whole  theory  rests  upon  the 
doctrine  of  literal  construction^  cannot  be  reasoned 
with.  And  what  astonishing  coolness  is  it  with 
Avhich  they  confront  the  Bible,  and  endeavor  to 
show  that  this  world  will  not  at  last  be  burnt  up 
and  destroyed !  They  tell  us  that  the  Personal 
reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth  "  is  to  extend  through 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  141 

eternal  ages ;" — that  "  it  is  to  be  exercised  over  all 
the  world  through  endless  ages;"  and  that  the 
ScrijDtures  "  do  not  teach  that  the  world  is  to  be 
burned  up,  nor  that  the  righteous  are  to  be  taken 
to  heaven."  We  have  their  reasoning,  if  reason- 
ing it  may  be  called,  in  such  sentences  as  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Were  the  world  to  be  destroyed,  because 
Satan  has  held  dominion  over  it ;  or  the  race  inter- 
cepted from  multiplying,  and  transported  to  some 
other  scenes  of  existence  on  the  ground  that  the 
earth  had  become  unfit  for  their  residence  because 
of  the  curse  brought  upon  it  by  sin ;  would  it  not 
be  a  triumph  to  Satan  ?"  Again,  "  Christ  is  to 
work  a  perfect  remedy  of  the  disorder  and  ruin 
brought  on  man  and  the  world  by  revolt,  not  by 
putting  an  end  to  the  multiplication  of  the  race, 
nor  by  striking  the  earth  from  existence,  but  by 
rescuing  them  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  caus- 
ing the  race  to  continue  as  it  would  have  done  if 
it  had  not  fallen."*  What  would  the  noble  man 
have  thought  of  a  future  state  in  which  the  right- 
eous are  to  live  and  reign  forever  on  this  earth, 
and  increase  and  multiply  just  as  they  do  now, 
who  wrote  of  "  a  better  country  that  is  an  heaven- 
ly," and  taught  the  world  that  "  flesh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdoni  of  God  ?"  What  would 
a  greater  than  he  have  thought  of  it,  who  uttered 
the  words,  "  In  my  Father^s  house  are  many  man- 

*  Theolog.  and  Lit.  Journal,  No.  9,  p.  23  and  24. 


14:2  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

sions  \  I  go  to  i^repare  a  jylace  for  you  f"  What 
would  the  Apostle  Peter  have  thought  of  it  when 
he  said,  "  Looking  for,  and  hasting  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  day  of  God,  wherein  the  heavens  being 
on  fire  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat  ?"  What  would  he  say  to 
the  miserable  subterfuge  of  its  advocates,  who  in 
order  to  protect  the  righteous  from  the  desolating 
effects  of  the  fierij  judgments  which,  according  to 
their  own  theor}",  are  to  come  upon  the  wicked, 
are  driven  to  the  conviction  that  the  final  confla- 
gi-ation  will  be  partial,  and  limited  to  scenes  where 
the  destruction  of  the  wicked  will  not  endans^er 
the  righteous  !  We  marvel  not  that  the  abettors 
of  this  theory  speak  of  tieio  revelations  f  May  it 
not  l:)e  that,  in  their  enthusiastic  eagerness,  they 
themselves  have  anticipated  those  extraordinary 
instructions  from  heaven  which  they  so  distinctly 
intimate  will  be  revealed  during  the  supposed 
Personal  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth  ?  We  must 
indeed  have  a  new  Bible  before  we  can  believe 
any  of  these  things.  Are  they  not  a  mere  human 
device,  originating  in  the  love  of  novelty,  fostered 
by  the  self-complacency  of  a  severe  and  imperioua 
criticism  upon  long  received  and  well  fortified 
opinions,  and  fitted  only  to  mislead  minds  that  are 
"  carried  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine  ?"  Most 
fei'vently  do  we  wish  that  our  respect  for  the  ad- 
vocates of  this  theory  could  restrain  us  from  say- 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I43 

ing  that  it  is  anything  better  than  ingenious  and 
learned  trifling  with  the  word  of  God. 

V.  Our  fifth  objection  to  this  theory  is,  that  it 
is  inconsistent  tvith  the  scriptural  narrative  of 
those  events  ■which  are  to  tahe  place  hetween  the 
Millennium  and  tlie  end  of  the  world.  The  20th 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Kevehition  furnishes 
the  following  brief,  but  comprehensive  narra- 
tive. "And  when  the  thousand  years  are  ex- 
pired, Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and 
shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in 
the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog  to 
gather  them  together  to  battle:  the  number  of 
whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  And  they  went 
up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed 
the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved 
city:  and  fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  de- 
voured them.  And  the  devil  that  deceived  them 
was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where 
the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet  are,  and  they 
shall  be  tormented  day  and  night  forever  and 
ever."  Immediately  after  this,  the  sacred  writer 
proceeds  in  highly  symbolical  language  to  describe 
the  Day  of  Judgment.  "  And  I  saw  a  great  white 
throne — and  the  dead  small  and  great  stand  before 
God — and  the  books  were  opened,  and  the  dead 
were  judged."  There  are  several  things  in  this 
narrative  that  are  absolutely  fiital  to  the  hypothe- 
sis of  the  Premillennial  advent.   In  the  first  place. 


144  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

it  speaks  of  events  that  are  to  take  place  on  this 
earth.,  and  affirms  the  thousand  years  of  the  Sa- 
viour's reign  upon  it  are  to  have  an  end ;  "  when 
the  thousand  years  are  expired."  This  the  mille- 
narians  deny,  as  we  have  before  seen.  In  the  next 
place,  it  affirms  that  the  judgment  will  not  take 
place  until  the  dose  of  the  thousand  years ;  it  was 
not  until  tlie  thousand  years  had  expired.,  that  the 
books  were  opened,  and  every  man  judged  accord- 
ing to  his  works.  This  also  millenarians  deny. 
And  in  the  third  place,  it  speaks  of  a  great  and 
final  conflict  between  the  powers  of  light  and  the 
powers  of  darkness,  which  is  to  take  place  between 
the  close  of  the  millennial  reign  and  the  subsequent 
and  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  This  the 
millenarians  also  deny ;  and  affirm  that  the  final 
battle  is  to  take  place  long  before,  and  when  Christ 
comes  in  Person  to  introduce  the  millennial  reign 
and  to  establish  his  kingdom.  Will  they  explain 
these  incoherencies  in  their  theory :  will  they  in- 
form us  how  it  is,  upon  their  hypothesis,  that  the 
spirit  of  Antichrist  is  to  rise  again  in  the  earth, 
after  the  thousand  years  are  expired  ?  Will  they 
inform  us  how  it  is  that  the  great  and  final  con- 
flict which  they  assign  to  a  period  previous  to  the 
Millennium,  John  speaks  of  as  after  the  Millen- 
nium ! 

Nor  is  this  all.    In  the  21st  chapter  of  the  same 
book,  we  have  the  following  narrative.     "  And  I 


1 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I45 

Jolin  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth ;  for  the 
first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away, 
and  there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I  John  saw  the 
Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem  come  down  from  God 
out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for 
her  husband."  The  writer  then  proceeds  to  de- 
scribe in  language  that  is  too  grand  and  symboli- 
cal to  admit  of  comment,  the  beauty  and  glory  of 
the  heavenly  woi-ld.  This  whole  narrative  is 
equally  fatal  to  the  Premillennial  theory.  It 
affirms  that  the  first  heaven  and  first  earth  are 
passed  away ;  which  this  theory  denies.  It  affirms 
that  the  great  and  glorious  scenes  and  events  which 
it  speaks  of  are  realized  not  until  after  the  judg- 
ment. This  also  milleuarians  deny,  and  declare 
that  they  are  realized  during  the  thousand  years 
of  Christ s  Personal  reign  on  the  earth.  Will  they 
explain  these  inconsistencies  between  the  inspired 
writer  and  their  own  hypothesis  ? 

VI.  Our  sixth  and  last  objection  to  this  theory 
is,  that  it  is  fitted  to  produce  7mscliicvovs  and  fa- 
natical impressions  upon  the  minds  of  men  in  re- 
lation to  tlie  period  of  Clirist^s  second  coming. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  dawn  of  the  true  Mil- 
lennium, and  that  of  which  the  Scriptures  speak, 
is  not  far  distant,  and  that  God  is  now  rapidly 
preparing  the  way  for  it  by  the  diffusion  of  his 
gospel,  and  the  political  agitations  of  the  earth. 
Nor  is  there  anything  in  this  prospect  but  is  fitted 


146  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

to  exert  the  most  animating  influence  on  the  human 
mind.  But  the  Millennium  becomes  a  very  differ- 
ent thing  from  what  it  will  be  in  reality,  when  it 
is  assumed  to  be  such  as  it  is  described  by  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  Premillennial  advent.  Yet  the 
same  predictions  and  the  same  signs  of  the  times 
which  the  Scriptures  specify  as  indicative  of  the 
approach  of  the  universal  reign  of  holiness  on  the 
earth  for  a  thousand  years,  millenarians  regard  as 
indicative  of  Christ's  final  coming  in  the  glory  of 
his  Father  and  with  his  angels  to  commence  the 
reign  6f  eternity.  Hence  they  proclaim  their  be- 
lief that  that  coming  day  is  near.  They  proclaim 
it  from  the  press  ;  they  proclaim  it  from  the  pul- 
pit ;  and  we  ourselves  have  heard  some  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  best  informed  among  them,  and 
men  whose  personal  character  and  worth  might 
well  give  weight  to  their  convictions,  declare  that 
they  were  expectants  of  his  coming,  could  truly  say 
that  they  held  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  ivait- 
ing  for  the  Lord's  last  advent.  We  know  well 
that  such  men  have  no  sympathies  with  the  rav- 
ings of  the  mad  prophet  who  has  driven  so  many 
persons  in  this  land  to  folly,  and  disappointment, 
and  despair,  and  the  madhouse,  and  that  they  dis- 
claim all  alliance  with  such  extravagancies.  But 
we  repeat  the  thought,  does  it  not  behoove  them 
to  inquire  if  this  millennial  furor  is  not  a  legitimate 
deduction  from  their  own  avowed  principles,  and 


MILLENNIAL  REIGN  ON  THE  EARTH.  I47 

whetlier  they  can  throw  off  the  responsibility  of 
leading  so  many  weak  minds  astray,  and  furnish- 
ing arguments  in  favor  of  their  abused  hypothesis 
to  minds  that  are  more  wicked  than  weak  ? 

Many  are  the  generations,  and  many  the  centu- 
ries that  will  pass  over  the  earth  before  the  final 
coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  Those  who  love  him 
will  welcome  his  coming  whenever,  and  however 
he  shall  appear.  His  coming  is  virtually  to  every 
man  at  death,  because  his  destiny  is  then  unalter- 
ably decided,  and  his  account  sealed  up  for  eter- 
nity. His  actual  coming  "  knoweth  no  man,  no, 
not  the  angels  in  heaven,  but  the  Father  only." 
The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  not  fully  ripe.  Great 
and  important  events  are  yet  to  take  place,  before 
the  command  is  given,  "  thrust  ye  in  the  sickle  ;" 
and  great  j)reparations  are  yet  to  be  made  for 
that  solemn  catastrophe.  The  plans  of  heavenly 
wisdom  are  too  vast  to  be  consummated  in  a  day ; 
"  the  end  is  not  yet." 

We  have  thus  presented  our  objections  to  the 
hypothesis  of  the  Premillennial  advent.  We  have 
omitted  several  strong  points  in  the  discussion, 
from  necessity.  It  is  unhappy  that  at  this  age  of 
the  world  the  church  of  God  should  be  called  on 
to  go  into  a  question  which  has  been  so  often  dis- 
cussed, and  one  which  we  have  long  supposed  put 
at  rest.  Forty  years  ago,  there  was  not,  to  the 
best  of  my  knowledge,  but  two   men  in  New 


14:8  'fHK  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

England  who  advocated  this  theory ;  and  their 
works  were  deemed  unworthy  of  notice.  They  are 
crude  view^s ;  and  though  persisted  in  honestly  at 
the  present  day,  I  confess  I  do  not  see  for  what 
good  end. 

If  you  ask  me,  Is  there  then  to  be  no  Millennium  ? 
I  answer  there  is  ;  there  is  a  day  coming  when  the 
Great  Prince  and  Saviom*  will  reign  gloriously 
over  this  earth.  What  is  the  nature  of  that  reign, 
and  what  the  leading  characteristics  of  that  com- 
ing age,  we  shall  endeavor  to  show  in  our  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   GLORY   OF   CIIEISt's   IVULLEISTSTAL   EEiaiS". 

There  is  a  class  of  minds,  which  the  conceal- 
ment of  the  future  does  but  incite  to  ascertain 
what  it  will  disclose.  Give  them  but  the  clue  to 
it,  and  though  their  inquiries  be  of  doubtful  suc- 
cess, they  prosecute  them  with  ardor ;  though  their 
excursions  be  across  seas  and  deserts,  and  through 
deep  caverns  and  intricate  labyrinths,  they  shrink 
not  from  the  toil,  or  the  peril  of  the  pursuit.  Nor 
is  there  anything  in  the  spirit  of  piety  to  repress, 
or  rebuke  this  research,  but  rather  not  a  little  to 
encourage  and  give  it  right  direction.  The  Chris- 
tian is  the  only  genuine  philosopher ;  the  lover  of 
God  is  the  only  true  lover  of  nature  and  science, 
the  only  wise  and  profited  inquirer  into  the  history 
of  the  past,  or  the  prospects  of  the  coming  times. 

How  trivial  the  consequences  which  flow  from 
the  greatest  achievements  of  men,  their  most 
important  discoveries  and  their  most  agitating 
revolutions,  compared  with  those  which  may  natu- 
rally be  supposed  to  follow  from  the  setting  up  of 


150  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

that  kingdom  of  which  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Head, 
and  which  is  fitted  in  its  noiseless,  pathless  course, 
to  transform  chaos  into  order  and  beauty,  and 
create  all  things  new  ! 

When,  six  thousand  years  ago,  the  thought  was 
uttered  that  the  Seed  of  the  Woman  should  bruise 
the  head  of  the  serpent,  there  were  wrapped  up  in 
this  announcement  some  of  the  greatest  thoughts 
ever  intimated  to  men.  Here  was  the  love  of  God 
to  this  guilty  world.  Here  was  the  Father  of  Eter- 
nity giving  his  Eternal  Son  to  die,  and  here  the 
stipulated  reward  of  that  mighty  Sufferer,  and  the 
joy  that  was  set  "  before  him,  when  he  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame."  And  here  was  the 
bright  harvest  of  the  omnipotent  and  ever-blessed 
Spirit,  who,  though  Paul  plant,  and  Apollos  water, 
himself  gives  the  increase.  The  mighty  mind  of 
the  Deity  has  formed  purposes  without  number 
that  are  expressive  of  goodness  and  wisdom ;  but 
they  are  all  subordinate  to  this,  and  minister  to 
its  fulfilment.  Without  it,  there  had  been  a  va- 
cuum in  the  universe,  the  sun  had  never  shone  in 
the  heavens,  nor  the  moon  walked  in  her  bright- 
ness. This  earth  had  not  been  this  earth.  Man 
had  not  been  man.  Seraphim  had  not  covered 
their  faces  with  their  wings,  nor  had  they  ever 
have  been  heard  to  say,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  is 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  ivliole  earth  is  full  of 
his  glory."  When  Rome  inscribed  in  three  differ- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        151 

ent  languages,  that  inscription  on  the  cross,  "  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews,"  there  was  an 
invisible  hand  which  was  preparing  the  announce- 
ment, "  At  the  name  of  Jesus,  every  knee  shall 
bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  on  earth,  and 
things  under  the  earth ;  and  every  tongue  shall 
confess  that  he  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father."  We  have  in  the  preceding  chapter,  en- 
deavored to  show  in  what  this  predicted  age  of 
millennial  glory  does  not  consist,  and  have  ex- 
pressed some  of  the  reasons  of  our  dissent  from 
the  opinion  that  Jesus  Christ  will  then  reign  in 
Person  upon  our  earth.  We  are,  in  some  sort, 
under  obligation,  therefore,  to  show  wherein  con- 
sists the  glory  of  that  predicted  day.  This  we  do 
by  the  induction  of  the  following  particulars. 

That  coming  day  will,  in  the  first  place,  he  in- 
troduced  hy  rcmarkaUe  judgments  inflicted  on  anti- 
cliristian  nations  and  iviched  men.  It  would  seem, 
from  many  intimations  in  the  Scriptures,  that  the 
church  of  God,  just  before  the  brighter  dawnings 
of  that  day,  will  be  involved  in  no  small  perplexity 
from  the  hostility  of  her  enemies.  It  has  been 
the  method  of  divine  providence  to  allow  his  peo- 
ple to  be  reduced  to  some  extremity  of  depression 
before  God  himself  interposes  for  their  deliver- 
ance and  enlargement.  To  such  an  extent  has  this 
been  the  fact  in  past  ages,  that  good  men  have 
been  taught  the  lesson  that  at  the  period  when 


152  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

their  enemies  began  to  triumph,  they  themselves 
may  begin  to  hope. 

The  representations  given  of  the  Millennium  in 
the  Apocalypse  are  preceded  by  the  representa- 
tions of  most  exemplary  and  fearful  judgments 
inflicted  upon  wicked  men,  and  upon  the  powers 
of  Antichrist  in  every  form.  Without  attempting 
to  specify  the  events  in  the  past  or  the  future  his- 
tory of  the  world,  which  correspond  with  the 
pouring  out  of  the  seven  phials,  containing  the 
seven  last  plagues,  it  is  enough  for  us  here  to  say 
that  they  are  all  emblematical  of  the  judgments 
that  are  to  descend  upon  the  earth,  in  order  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  reign  of  Jesus  Christ 
among  men.  And  they  are  to  be  continued  down 
to  the  period  when  John  "saw  an  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  having  the  key  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand,"  to  bind 
"  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil  and  Satan," 
a  thousand  years.  The  evidence  preponderates  in 
favor  of  the  conclusion  that  the  sixth  phial  is  now 
being  poured  upon  the  earth,  and  has  ])een  de- 
scending for  many  years  that  are  past,  and  will 
yet  descend  for  years  to  come.  The  "  Holy  City," 
the  true  church  of  God,  is  still  "trodden  under 
foot  of  the  Gentiles,"  infested  by  enemies  and  false 
friends,  and  in  the  old  Avorld  especially  the  wit- 
nesses for  the  truth  are  "  prophesying  in  sackcloth." 
For  a  series  of  years  events  have  been   taking 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        I53 

place  which  indicate  the  overthrow  both  of  the 
imperial  and  the  ecclesiastical  Beast,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet ;  and  by 
which  the  sources  of  all  antichristian  powers  have 
been  and  are  gradually  drying  up,  like  the  dry- 
ing of  a  mighty  river,  which  for  so  many  ages  has 
been  overflowing  all  its  banks.  How  long  before 
the  seventh  and  last  phial  will  begin  to  be  poured 
out,  we  are  not  warranted  in  determining  any  far- 
ther than  to  say  that  this  last  series  of  judgments 
is  yet  to  visit  the  earth.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
the  spirit  of  wickedness  is  yet  to  become  rampant 
in  all  its  forms  of  arbitrary  power,  vile  hypocrisy, 
giddy  worldliness,  bold  infidelity,  and  filthy  crime. 
Nor  is  there  any  doubt  that  they  will  combine 
their  counsels  and  their  power  against  the  Son  of 
God  and  his  struggling  church,  and  that  in  this 
last  battle,  which  is  to  precede  the  Millennium, 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  will  be  made  to  tremble 

"  From  turret  to  foundation  stone." 

These  judgments  upon  antichristian  nations  will 
neither  be  few  nor  light.  Revolution  will  succeed 
revolution  both  in  the  political  and  moral  world ; 
convulsion  will  come  upon  the  back  of  convulsion, 
and  God  will  pour  upon  the  nations  "  his  indigna- 
tion, even  all  his  fierce  anger."  The  scenes  shall 
be  lealized  of  which  it  is  written,  "And  there 
were  voices  and  thunders  and  lightnings  and  a 


154:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since  men  were 
upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake  and  so 
great."  The  "  cities  of  the  nations  shall  fall ;"  and 
"great  Babylon  shall  come  into  remembrance 
before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the 
wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath."  The  nations 
who  have  spilled  the  blood  of  his  saints  shall 
drink  blood  because  they  are  worthy.  The  cry 
of  the  souls  from  under  the  altar  shall  be  heard  in 
heaven  and  answered,  "  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy 
and  true,  dost  thou  not  avenge  our  blood  on  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  !"  The  "  day  of  the  Lord 
of  hosts  shall  be  upon  every  one  that  is  proud  and 
lofty,  and  upon  every  one  that  is  lifted  up,  and  he 
shall  be  brought  low ;"  and  upon  "  every  high 
tower  and  every  fenced  wall,"  and  God  will  "  cause 
the  arrogancy  of  the  proud  to  cease,  and  will  lay 
low  the  haughtiness  of  the  terrible." 

So  far  from  being  subdued  and  humbled  by 
these  judgments,  the  hostile  nations  shall  throw 
their  armor  about  them,  and,  exasperated  with 
rage,  shall  contend  with  God  as  in  the  day  of  bat- 
tle. With  the  sword  and  with  fire  and  with  fam- 
ine God  shall  contend  with  them  until  they  are 
swept  from  the  earth.  "They  shall  pass  through 
it  hardly  bestead  and  hungry  ;  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that  when  they  shall  be  hungry,  they  shall 
fret  themselves,  and  curse  their  king  and  their 
God  and  look  upward.    And  they  shall  look  unto 


\ 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        I55 

the  earth  and  behold  trouble  and  darkness,  dim- 
ness of  anguish,  and  they  shall  be  driven  into 
darkness." 

This  last  conflict  under  the  seventh  and  last  phial 
is  described  in  the  Apocalypse  by  the  most  fear- 
ful metaphors  and  symbols  which  human  language 
can  utter.  "  I,  John,  saw  the  Beast  and  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  and  their  armies  gathered  together 
to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty, 
to  make  war  against  him  who  sat  upon  the  horse 
and  against  his  army."  "And  I  saw  an  angel 
standing  in  the  sun  ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying  to  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  Come  and  gather  yourselves  together 
unto  the  supper  of  the  great  God ;  that  ye  may 
eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains, 
and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and  the  flesh  of 
horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh 
of  all  men  both  small  and  great." 

Judgments,  of  which  such  things  as  these  are 
the  symbols,  are  yet  to  take  place  in  our  world, 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  glory  of  Christ  in 
his  millennial  reign.  There  will  be  no  refuge 
from  this  desolating  march  of  death.  The  work 
will  go  on  until  the  enemies  of  the  Son  of  Man  are 
destroyed  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth  and  the 
brightness  of  his  coming. 

Throughout  all  this  period,  God's  designs  are 
represented  as  rapidly  coming  to  maturity  for  the 


156  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

introduction  of  this  predicted  day  of  his  great 
power  and  glory.  The  assembly  of  the  first-born, 
we  are  told  by  the  same  symbolical  writer,  will 
give  glory  to  God  both  for  these  judgments  and 
for  the  dawning  of  millennial  glory  as  swmltGr 
neous  events.  Immediately  as  this  ascription  of 
glory  to  God  is  being  given,  the  angel  who  in 
terpreted  the  vision  to  John  is  heard  saying 
"  Write,  blessed  are  they  who  are  called  to  the 
marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb."  Then  it  was  that 
the  song  of  triumph  began.  "  And  I  heard  as  it 
were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunderings,  saying,  Alleluiah  :  for  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice, 
and  give  honor  to  him ;  for  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready !"  Then  the  devil  will  be  chained,  and  the 
Millennium  will  advance  by  progressive  and  rapid 
steps.  It  will  be  like  "  life  from  the  dead,"  and 
well  nigh  as  rapid  as  a  general  resurrection. '  The 
perfect  day  will  not  shine  at  once  ;  but  the  dawn 
will  shine  brightly. 

We  are  looking  for  that  day.  Heaven  is  look- 
ing for  it.  Angels  and  the  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect  are  looking  for  it.  Its  fainter  lights 
even  now  begin  to  transpire  through  the  veiled 
windows  of  time,  and  seem  struggling  to  break 
through   and   illumine   this   dark   world.      Even 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        157 

"  tlie  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  waiteth 
for  this  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God."  The 
One  so  long  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  shall 
come  "  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  and  like 
showers  that  water  the  earth.  All  kings  shall 
bow  down  before  him,  and  all  nations  shall  call 
him  blessed." 

Thus  introduced  by  judgments,  this  reign  of 
mercy  will  commence ;  and  our  next  remark  con- 
cerning it  is,  that  it  will  be  distinguished  hy  the  -y 
multitudes  who  enjoy  its  sacred  infiuence.  It  will 
be  the  glory  of  Christ's  millennial  reign  that  "  he 
shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the 
river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth."  Nor  will  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth  then  be  few,  notwithstand- 
ing the  desolations  that  have  been  made  by  the 
sweeping  judgments  that  preceded  his  gracious 
empire.  Everything  will  combine  from  the  very 
dawn  of  that  blissful  period  to  augment  the  pop- 
ulation of  our  globe;  so  that  at  the  close  of  a 
single  century  of  the  thousand  years,  more  human 
beings  will  be  found  upon  the  face  of  it  than  ever 
existed  at  any  former  period. 

The  predictions  which  relate  to  the  increase  of 
the  Jeics  alone  are  of  a  very  marked  character. 
"  The  mountains  of  Israel  shall  shoot  forth  their 
branches;"  and  God  "will  multiply  men  upon 
them,  and  do  better  to  them  than  at  their  begin- 
nings."    Men  shall  no  more  say,  that  "  the  land 


168  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

devours  men,  and  lias  bereaved  its  nations."  As 
tlie  "holy  flock,  the  flock  of  Jerusalem  in  her 
solemn  feasts ;  so  shall  the  waste  cities  be  filled 
with  flocks  of  men."  The  same  causes  which 
contribute  to  this  augmented  population  of  the 
Jews,  are  adverted  to  in  the  Scriptures  as  having 
the  same  effect  upon  the  Gentile  nations.  There 
shall  be  "  an  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon 
the  top  of  the  mountains  :  the  fruit  thereof  shall 
shake  like  Lebanon ;  and  they  of  the  city  shall 
flourish  like  grass  of  the  earth."  The  "  abundance 
of  the  seas,"  and  the  "  forces  of  the  Gentiles,"  the 
multitude  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  the  glory 
of  its  forests  shall  unite  in  beautifying  the  place 
of  God's  sanctuary,  and  making  the  place  of  his 
feet  glorious.  This  earth  is  now  believed  to  con- 
tain eight  hundred  millions  of  inhabitants.  Yet 
what  vast  portions  of  it  remain  uninhabited ;  and 
what  a  multitude,  both  of  remote  and  proximate 
causes,  retard  the  increase  of  the  human  family ; 
or  cut  off  its  population  in  its  bud,  and  flower,  and 
fruitfulness  ;  or  diminish  and  reduce  those  honored 
years,  in  which  "  the  almond-tree  flourishes  !" 

The  social  relations  form  no  small  part  of  that 
wise  and  benevolent  arrangement  of  divine  provi- 
dence by  which  the  institutions  of  religion,  and 
true  religion  itself  are  perpetuated  from  parents 
to  their  children,  and  the  honor  of  the  Kedeemer 
becomes  refulgent  in  the  earth.     They  are  dis- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        159 

honored  now ;  but  they  will  not  be  dishonored  in 
that  coming  day,  when  "  a  little  one  shall  become 
a  thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation." 
Few,  if  any,  will  then  be  found  who,  from  a  dis- 
social spirit,  from  avarice,  or  licentiousness  ;  from 
the  dread  of  toil,  or  the  fears  of  responsibility ; 
from  indifference  to  the  wise  arrangements  of  the 
Author  of  their  living,  or  from  any  other  selfish 
consideration  ;  will  countervail  that  great  law  by 
which  these  relations  are  rendered  perpetual  and 
pure.  The  world  will  be  exclusively  a  world  of 
families  ;  or  if  here  and  there  a  solitary  straggler 
is  found  beyond  the  bright  zone  that  thus  belts 
the  earth,  he  will  be  pitied  and  wondered  at  as  a 
wandering  star. 

The  science  of  Political  Economy^  about  which 
so  much  has  been  written  to  little  pui-pose,  will 
then  be  understood,  and  its  true  principles  will  be 
found  in  the  nice  adaptations  of  that  moral  code 
which  not  only  prescribes  the  conduct  of  man 
toward  his  fellows,  but  the  intercourse  of  nations. 
The  crowded  and  suffocated  portions  of  the  earth, 
where  human  labor  finds  little  encouragement, 
and  there  is  a  scanty  supply  for  human  wants, 
will  migrate  to  broader  lands,  and  where  the 
earth  is  enriched  by  the  quiet  of  centuries.  Ava- 
rice will  give  way  to  contentment ;  the  spirit  of 
speculation  will  be  superseded  by  cheerful  dil- 
igence and  moderate  gain;  and  land  and  ocean 


IgO  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

yield  their  increase,  because  "  His  way  is  known 
upon  earth,  and  his  saving  health  among  all 
nations." 

It  was  the  promise  of  God  to  his  people,  that 
if  they  would  hearken  to  his  voice,  "he  would  take 
away  sickness  from  the  midst  of  them."  It  is  a 
remarkable  declaration  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
concerning  the  Millennium,  that  the  "  inhabitant 
shall  not  say,  I  am  sick."  The  germs  of  disease 
will  no  longer  be  found  in  human  vices ;  men  will 
die  only  by  the  gradual  decays  of  nature ;  and 
"  there  shall  be  no  more  an  infant  of  days,  nor  an 
old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days."  Famine 
and  plague  shall  no  more  desolate  the  earth ;  war, 
that  scourge  of  humanity,  shall  cease,  and  the  re- 
sources it  has  diminished,  and  the  energies  it  has 
wasted,  shall  be  employed  only  in  the  diffusion  of 
blessing.  Those  fountains  of  human  infirmity  and 
sorrow, — intemperance,  licentiousness,  and  luxury 
— in  whose  deceitful  and  rushing  maelstrom  so 
many  generations  have  found  a  premature  grave, 
shall  be  dried  up  ;  and  in  its  place  the  waters  of 
the  sanctuary  shall  flow,  and  "  everything  shall 
live  whither  the  river  cometh."  Could  we  stand 
in  the  midst  of  those  coming  days,  and  view  the 
population  of  this  globe,  we  should  see  what  has 
never  yet  been  seen.  Not  a  continent  nor  island, 
not  mountain  nor  valley;  not  river's  bank  nor 
iron-bound  shore,  not  a  sandy  desert  nor  a  bold 


i 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        161 

promontory,  but  will  teem  with  the  habitations 
of  men.  Successive  generations,  no  longer  traver- 
sing the  earth  in  solitary  streams  or  broad  rivers, 
shall  flow  on  in  one  vast,  swelling  ocean,  every- 
where multiplied  as  the  sands  on  the  shore. 

To  an  extent  hitherto  unknown,  the  age  of 
which  we  speak,  ivill  also,  in  the  next  place,  he  one 
of  light  and  hnowledge.  It  is  the  device  of  the 
Adversary,  to  shroud  the  world  in  darkness ;  he 
holds  his  throne  most  firmly  in  "  the  dark  places 
of  the  earth."  He  who  is  the  light  of  the  world 
never  made  a  more  exulting  avowal  than  that  at 
the  bar  of  Pilate,  when  he  said,  "  To  this  end  was 
I  born,  and  for  this  end  came  I  into  the  world, 
that  I  might  bear  witness  to  the  truth.''''  He  is  the 
King  of  truth ;  light  and  truth  are  the  great  ele- 
ments of  his  empire,  and  the  only  means  of  its  ad- 
vancement and  triumph.  It  is  a  remarkable  predic- 
tion, that  "  knowledge  with  the  strength  of  salva- 
tion shall  be  the  stability"  of  the  best  days  of  the 
Christian  church.  And  it  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  since  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era, 
save  the  arts  of  divination,  which  still  linger  in 
Pagan  lands  as  their  forlorn  hope,  the  lights  of 
science  have  been  wauino^  throuf!:hout  the  Pagan 

(Do  O 

world.  Even  in  the  darkest  of  the  "  Dark  Ages," 
almost  every  department  of  useful  knowledge,  re- 
pudiated everywhere  else,  found  a  refuge  in  the 
monasteries  of  a  corrupted  Christianity.      Facts 


162  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  principles  multiplied  without  limit,  do  indeed 
show  that  a  spiritual  religion  does  not  necessarily 
stand  abreast  with  the  progress  of  science  and  the 
arts ;  while  they  also  show  that  all  advances  of  true 
religion  carry  along  with  them  a  proportioned  in- 
tellectual advancement.  Bright  will  be  the  glory 
of  that  age  of  which  it  may  be  said  that  piety  is 
the  adornment  of  its  learning,  and  learning  is  the 
adornment  of  its  piety.  This  shall  be  eminently 
one  of  the  glories  of  Christ's  millennial  reign.  In- 
stitutions of  learning  shall  be  multiplied,  and  they 
shall  be  under  a  Christian  influence.  The  press 
shall  no  longer  teem  with  error,  but  become  the 
vehicle  of  truth ;  important  truth,  truth  that  in- 
terests and  pleases,  because  it  instructs  and  elevates. 
Most  of  all  shall  religious  hiowledge^  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  and  his  Son,  have  access  to  the  human 
mind.  The  world  shall  no  longer  groan  under  the 
bondage  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  The  Prince 
of  darkness  shall  be  expelled  from  this  his  usurped 
dominion,  and  be  chained  a  thousand  years.  "  The 
eyes  of  them  that  see  shall  not  be  dim ;  and  the 
ears  of  them  that  hear  shall  hearken.  The  heart 
of  the  rash  also  shall  understand  knowledge,  and 
the  tongue  of  the  stammerers  shall  speak  plainly. 
Then  the  moon  shall  be  confounded,  and  tlie  sun 
ashamed,  when  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  reign  in 
Mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  before  his  an- 
cients gloriously."     The  imagery  by  Avhich  this 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        163 

increase  of  knowledge  is  illustrated  is  beautiful 
and  significant  beyond  comparison.  Nor  is  the 
sober  fact  less  significant,  or  beautiful.  God's  word, 
never  bound,  shall  then  break  over  the  limits  of 
tribe,  nation,  and  language,  and  have  "  free  course 
and  be  glorified."  "  This  gospel  of,  the  kingdom 
shall  be  preached  to  all  nations."  The  rising  gen- 
eration shall  be  a  generation  religiously  instructed ; 
and  the  Bible  shall  become  a  text-book  in  every 
school  and  university  throughout  the  earth.  Every- 
where shall  it  have  access  to  the  human  mind; 
kings  shall  honor  it  upon  their  thrones ;  courtiers 
shall  honor  it  in  their  councils ;  and  the  common 
people  shall  honor  it.  Untold  myriads  shall  be 
sanctified  through  the  truth.  An  intelligent  and 
holy  ministry,  and  an  intelligent  and  holy  church 
shall  be  found  in  every  clime.  Heavenly  truth 
shall  be  difl^'used  through  all  nations;  the  institu- 
tions of  heavenly  love  and  wisdom  shall  flourish 
under  genial  skies ;  returning  Sabbaths  shall  every- 
where revisit  the  earth ;  churches  of  a  pure  faith 
shall  be  erected  in  every  district,  and  stand  as 
beacon  lights  on  every  shore.  God  shall  "  destroy 
the  face  of  the  covering  cast  over  all  people,  and 
the  veil  spread  over  all  nations."  Amid  the  mul- 
tiplied facilities  for  human  intercourse,  many  shall 
run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  increased." 
"  The  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the 
sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be  sevenfold,  as 


164  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  light  of  seven  days,"  and  the  "  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea." 

It  will  also  in  the  next  place  be  an  age  which 
is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  It 
will  differ  from  former  ages,  in  no  one  particular 
more  than  this.  The  third  Person  in  the  adorable 
and  ever-blessed  Trinity  will  then  be  univei-sally 
acknowledged  as  the  appointed  and  honored  Dis- 
penser of  the  blessings  of  that  New  Covenant  of 
which  the  Son  of  God  is  the  Mediator.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  the  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth 
will  be  the  reign  of  holiness.  There  shall  be  few 
unconverted  and  unholy  men.  We  dare  not  say 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  will  then  be 
converted  to  God,  because  the  Scriptures  intimate 
that  there  will  still  be  a  leaven  of  wickedness,  and 
miry  places  of  the  earth  that  "  are  given  to  salt," 
and  where  the  waters  that"  issued  from  the  Sanc- 
tuary do  not  come.  The  final  struggle  between 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  and  the  great  battle 
of  Gog  and  Magog  which  is  just  antecedent  to  the 
final  judgment,  and  during  which  Satan  shall  be 
again  let  loose  for  a  little  season,  cannot  well  be 
accounted  for  without  the  fact,  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  multitudes  of  good  men,  there  will  be  a 
remnant  that  will  still  cleave  to  their  sins,  and 
their  lusts,  remain  rebels  among  the  rebellious, 
and  adhere  to  the  last  to  the  accursed  Father  of 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENIAL  REIGN.         165 

rebellion.  These  constitute  "  the  rest,"  the  rem- 
nant of  which  the  Apocalypse  speaks,  that  lost 
their  power  during  the  Millennium,  and  "lived  not 
again  until  the  thousand  years  were  completed." 
This  one  thing  is  clearly  revealed,  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  world,  as  a  mass,  will  then  be  holy. 
"  The  gathering  of  the  people^''  shall  then  be  unto 
the  predicted  Shiloh.  "  A  nation  shall  be  born  in 
a  day."  The  "  daughter  of  Zion  shall  rejoice,  be- 
cause many  nations  shall  be  joined  unto  the  Lord 
in  that  day,  and  shall  be  his  people."  "  From  the 
rising  of  the  sun  unto  the  going  down  of  the 
same,  his  name  shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles ; 
and  in  every  place,  incense  shall  be  offered  to  his 
name,  and  a  pure  offering,  and  his  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  heathen."  The  Jews  also  will  be 
restored  from  their  long  exile,  and  form  one  com- 
munity with  the  Christian  church ;  the  veil  that 
is  upon  their  hearts  shall  be  taken  away,  and  from 
"  all  places  whither  they  have  been  scattered," 
they  shall  return,  and  come  into  the  fold  of  the 
Great  Shepherd.  The  Root  of  Jesse  shall  "  stand 
for  an  ensign  to  the  people,  to  which  the  outcasts 
of  Israel  shall  assemble,  and  the  dispersed  of  Judah 
shall  gather  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth." 
The  effect  of  their  conversion  upon  the  Gentile 
nations  may  well  be  supposed  to  be  bordering 
almost  upon  the  miraculous ;  "  for  if  the  casting 
away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the   world, 


166  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from 
the  dead  ?" 

Not  only  will  there  be  more  good  men,  but 
good  men  themselves  will  be  more  conformed  to 
God.  They  shall  walk  in  God's  statutes  and  keep 
his  judgments  as  previous  generations  have  not 
done.  They  will  still  be  imperfect  men  ;  but  they 
will  be  eminently  adorned  with  the  beauties  of 
holiness.  "  They  shall  not  speak  lies,  neither  shall 
a  deceitful  tongue  be  found  in  their  mouth."  In 
that  day  "there  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of  the 
horses,  Holiness  unto  the  Loed  !"  This  reign  of 
Christ  by  his  Spirit  is  his  true  reign  upon  the 
earth ;  and  glorious  will  it  be  for  the  splendor  of 
his  power,  and  the  triumphs  of  his  redemption, 
beyond  what  eye  has  seen  or  ear  has  heard.  Men 
shall  be  blessed  in  him,  all  nations  shall  call  him 
blessed.  "The  idols  he  shall  utterly  abolish." 
The  great  obstructibns  to  the  prevalence  and 
growth  of  piety  in  the  earth  will  then  be  taken 
out  of  the  way.  The  various  forms  of  Paganism 
will  die  ;  atheism  and  infidelity  and  the  Mahom- 
edan  imposture  will  wake  no  more ;  and  every 
form  of  hierarchy  will  have  slept  its  sleep.  False 
religions  that  are  baptized  with  the  Christian 
name  will  no  longer  exert  their  neutralizing  and 
corrupting  influence ;  their  teachers  and  their  dis- 
ciples will  have  passed  away ;  no  hand  shall  gar- 
nish the  sepulchre  where  they  lie,  and  none  shall 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        167 

be  found  to  slied  a  tear  upon  their  grave.  It  will 
be  a  time  of  great  engagedness  among  the  people 
of  God ;  Christian  churches  will  be  Christian  in 
character  as  well  as  in  name.  It  will  be  an  age 
of  prayer  and  one  of  great  anxiety,  and  still  great- 
er hope  and  expectation  for  the  souls  of  men.  The 
ministers  of  the  gospel  will  be  eminent  for  their 
self-denial,  toil,  and  fidelity,  and  will  preach  as 
they  never  preached  before.  The  Spirit  of  God 
will  be  upon  preachers  and  upon  hearers  ;  and  in- 
stead of  here  and  there  a  passing  cloud,  the  heav- 
ens shall  pour  down  righteousness,  and  the  earth 
shall  open  and  bring  forth  salvation.  The  New 
Jerusalem  shall  come  down  from  God  out  of  heav- 
en ;  God  himself  shall  dwell  with  men  and  be 
their  God.  The  Millennium  will  be  heaven  begun 
on  earth,  and  heaven  will  be  the  millennium  of 
earth  consummated  in  holiness  and  joy. 

We  remark  again,  it  will  also  be  a  period  when  ^~ 
it  will  be  distinctly  seen  that  all  things  are  directed  '""^ 
hij  Providence  in  suhservieiicy  to  the  Mncjdom  of 
Christ.  All  things  ever  have  been  thus  directed ; 
but  this  subserviency  has,  to  the  eye  of  sense,  and 
even  to  the  eye  of  faith,  been  sometimes  so  ob- 
scurely made  known  that  it  has  scarcely  been 
perceived,  much  less  always  gratefully  acknowl- 
edged. If  we  look  over  the  earth  on  which  we 
dwell,  we  see  so  many  events,  agencies,  and  influ- 
ences that   countervail   the  great   objects  which 


168  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Christ  has  in  view,  that  we  see  not  how  they  will 
ever  contribute  to  his  advancement  and  honor. 
We  see  wrong  and  injury  in  every  form  ;  human 
rights  trampled  on,  and  human  obligations  unen- 
forced and  trifled  with.  On  the  side  of  the  op- 
pressors is  power,  and  the  oppressed  have  no  com- 
forter. But  in  that  age  of  millennial  glory,  hu- 
man authority  and  power  will  be  in  the  hands  of 
good  men.  As  the  vast  majority  of  the  human 
race  will  then  be  holy,  such  will  be  their  influence 
that  human  governments  will  be  in  their  hands,  and 
the  places  of  power  and  trust  will  be  at  their  dis- 
posal. "  The  kingdom  and  the  greatness  of  the 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven  will  be  given  to 
the  saints  of  the  most  high  God."  The  people  will 
be  righteous,  and  therefore  the  rulers  will  be  good 
men.  The  people  will  rule,  and  a  glorious  and 
Christian  democracy  will  it  be  when  righteous  na- 
tions demand  righteous  rulers,  and  rulers  and 
ruled  come  bending  unto  the  Son  of  God  !  "  All 
kings  shall  bow  down  before  him,  and  all  nations 
shall  serve  him."  Oppression  shall  cease,  and 
every  yoke  of  bondage  shall  be  broken.  Kings 
shall  be  nursing  fathers,  and  queens  nursing  moth- 
ers to  the  church  of  Christ.  Great  voices  in  heaven 
shall  announce  that  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  w^orld 
are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  his 
Christ.  He  will  be  exalted,  and  all  the  powers  of 
earth  shall  be  subservient  to  his  dominion.     He 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        1^9 

Will  reign  over  the  earth,  in  his  people  and  with 
his  people,  and  they  "  shall  live  and  reign  with 
him."  His  influence  will  be  extended  to  all  the 
forms  of  power  and  to  all  the  departments  of  gov- 
ernment, everywhere  vindicating  the  rights,  and 
at  the  same  time  enforcing  the  responsibilities  of 
men.  Legislators  will  be  wise  and  good  men ;  that 
great  engine  of  security  and  happiness,  or  of  inse- 
curity and  misery,  huDian  law,  no  longer  subject 
to  the  arts  of  professional  adroitness,  will  be  sub- 
mitted to  upright  and  impartial  expositors  and 
judges,  and  be  a  terror  only  to  the  evil,  and  a 
praise  to  them  that  do  well ;  while  in  the  execu- 
tion of  laAv  "  its  officers  shall  be  peace  and  its  ex- 
actions righteousness." 

There  are  great  elements  of  nature  also  which 
have  just  begun  to  be  subjected  to  the  power  of 
man.  Others  there  are  which  as  yet  remain 
locked  up  in  her  own  bosom,  because  the  time  is 
not  come,  when  "  the  Lord  hath  need  of  them." 
The  magnetic  power,  and  the  power  of  steam  are 
destined  to  work  wonders  for  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  resources  of  the  physical  creation 
will  not  probably  be  known  until  they  are  ren- 
dered more  subservient  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
creation.  Problems  are  waiting  for  their  solution, 
only  until  they  shall  be  made  to  speak  for  Jesus 
Christ,  bear  testimony  to  his  truth,  and  extend  his 
kingdom  among  men.    The  heavens  and  the  earth, 

VOL.  II.  8 


170  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

land  and  ocean,  men  and  nations,  tlie  inspection 
of  the  present  and  the  researches  of  the  past  wait 
his  bidding,  "  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  for 
whom  are  all  things."  The  light  and  the  darkness, 
the  atmosphere  above  us,  and  the  fossils  and  min 
erals  and  more  precious  metals  beneath  us,  ever;y 
element,  and  combination  of  elements  shall  be  con- 
ducive to  his  praise.  And  will  it  not  be  the  jubi- 
lee of  the  material  creation,  when  its  clouds  and 
its  sunshine,  its  mines  of  gold,  its  honors,  its  pur- 
suits and  its  enjoyments  all  do  honor  to  the  Re- 
deeming Saviour  ? 

The  arts  and  sciences  shall  also  be  under  the 
influence  of  Christian  principles,  and  receive  a  be- 
nevolent direction.  No  longer  will  they  be  em- 
ployed in  works  of  impiety  and  unrighteousness, 
or  for  the  mere  gratification  of  selfishness  and  gain, 
or  for  the  construction  of  ingenious  instruments 
of  death.  Instead  of  being  embarrassed  and  kept 
back  as  they  have  been  in  past  ages,  because  they 
multiply  the  agencies  of  evil,  they  shall  disclose 
new  inventions  and  be  crowned  with  new  successes, 
because  men  have  learned  to  employ  them  wisely. 
This  whole  material  creation,  made  by  Christ,  and 
for  Christ,  shall  no  longer  be  diverted  fi-om  the 
design  of  honoring  him,  and  wickedly  made  the 
unhallowed  means  of  obstructing  the  progress  of  his 
kingdom.  For  ages  past,  this  has  been  a  polluted 
earth  and  still  "  groans"  under  its  pollution.  Every 


THE  GLORY  ON  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        171 

created  thing  in  it  has  been  prostituted  to  the  vile 
purpose  of  dishonoring  the  Son  of  God.  It  has 
been  thus  "  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but 
by  reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in 
liopey  There  is  hope  even  for  the  earth  which  is 
now  under  the  curse  for  man's  sake.  The  day  will 
dawn  when  it  will  be  rescued  from  this  "  bondage 
of  corruption,"  and  made  subservient  to  "  the  man- 
ifestation of  the  Son  of  God."  "  Let  the  sea  roar 
and  the  fulness  thereof;  the  world  and  they  that 
dwell  therein.  Let  the  floods  clap  their  hands ; 
let  the  hills  be  joyful  together  before  the  Lord ; 
for  he  Cometh  to  judge  the  earth;  with  righteous- 
ness shall  he  judge  the  world,  and  the  people  with 
equity.  Sing  O  ye  heavens,  for  the  Lord  hath 
done  it ;  shout  ye  lower  parts  of  the  earth ;  break 
forth  into  singing,  ye  mountains,  and  forests,  and 
every  tree  therein  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  redeemed 
Jacob,  and  glorified  himself  in  Israel !" 

It  will  also  be  a  day,  in  the  next  place,  when 
the  glory  of  Christ  shall  he  ivonderfully  manifested 
to  the  children  of  men.  Here  lies  the  true  glory 
of  that  coming  day.  God  himself  is  the  true  glory 
of  all  his  works.  In  past  ages  he  has  done  much 
to  bring  himself  to  the  view  of  creatures ;  but  they 
have  been  comparatively  ages  of  darkness.  He  is 
known  now  by  "  the  judgments  which  he  execut- 
eth,"  and  by  the  dark  cloud  in  which  he  dwells, 
and  whence  the  voice  goes  forth  to  agitate,  con- 


172  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

vulse,  and  overturn.  Yet  these  are  but  parts  of  his 
ways.  There  are  other  glories  of  his  nature  to  be 
unfolded ;  other  impressions  of  his  excellence  to  be 
produced  on  the  minds  of  men ;  other  honors  which 
he  is  to  receive,  ere  the  last  ingathering  of  this 
world's  harvest.  Some  of  these  manifestations 
have  already  been  made ;  and  if  it  is  a  view  unut- 
terably grand  and  beautiful  thus  to  "  stand  still 
and  see  the  salvation  of  God,"  what  will  it  be 
when  that  salvation  is  consummated,  and  its  splen- 
did glories  burst  upon  the  earth,  and  the  tongue 
of  the  dumb  is  unloosed,  and  millions  in  every  land 
exclaim,  "Behold,  what  hath  God  wrought!" 
They  are  these  strong  and  vivid  impressions  of  the 
Deity  made  upon  the  minds  of  men,  which  is  one 
great  object  he  has  in  view  in  the  arrangements 
of  his  providence  and  in  the  dispensations  of  his 
grace.  We  turn  aside  to  see  this  great  sight,  as 
Moses  did,  to  look  on  the  burning  bush  in  Horeb, 
and  take  the  shoes  from  off  our  feet.  Or  like  Ja- 
cob, in  the  open  field,  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
heavenly  vision,  and  with  him  exclaim,  "  Verily, 
the  Lord  is  in  this  place !"  He  sjDeaks  to  us  as  he 
did  to  Elijah  on  the  mount,  or  to  Job  out  of  the 
whirlwind,  and  we  bow  at  his  footstool.  Won- 
drous day  will  that  be  when  the  nations  shall  ac- 
knowledge his  supremacy,  and  feel  the  weight  of 
his  great  and  amiable  character.  "  Enter  into  the 
rock,  and  hide  thee  in  the  dust,  for  fear  of  the 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        1  ;3 

Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty ;  for  the 
lofty  looks  of  mau  shall  be  humbled,  and  the 
haughtiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the 
Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day  !"  Won- 
drous day,  when  "  all  kings  shall  bow  before  him, 
and  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed !"  No  mar- 
vel that  ancient  prophets  "  searched  what,  or 
what  manner  of  time"  it  would  be.  Delightful, 
yet  awful  day !  desirable,  yet  fearful  age !  to  his 
friends  desirable,  fearful  only  to  his  foes !  And 
they  shall  go  "  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into 
the  caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
for  the  glory  of  his  majesty,  when  he  ariseth  to 
shake  terribly  the  earth." 

It  is  a  great  thought  when  we  speak  of  Chrlst^s 
millennial  glory.  The  time  is  coming  when  it  will 
be  written  in  broad  and  legible  charactei's  on  the 
azure  sky,  and  stand  out  in  strong  and  bold  relief 
when  the  sun  is  turned  into  darkness,  and  the 
moon  into  blood.  It  will  blaze  forth  as  the  recog- 
nized standard  of  that  "  kingdom  which  cannot 
be  moved,"  and  as  the  well-known  insignia  of  its 
royalty  and  splendor,  when  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  shall  have  "passed  away,  as  the  chaif  of  the 
summer  threshing-floor."  It  is  the  ineffable  glory 
of  his  divine  nature  in  all  the  combination  and  in- 
finitude of  his  perfections.  It  is  the  glory  that  is 
consequent  on  his  sufferings  who  is  "  God  manifest 
in  the  flesh  !"     It  is  glory  that  shall  be  worthy 


174  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

of  Idiii^  worthy  of  his  greatest  purpose,  and  his 
greatest  work,  Avorthy  of  his  work  of  degradation 
and  suffering,  when  he  travelled  in  the  "  greatness 
of  his  strength."  It  is  glory  which  is  his  fitting 
reward,  and  with  which  he  is  satisfied  when  he 
looks  back  upon  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  con- 
templates his  completed  work.  The  existence  of 
this  earth  would  be  a  dark  problem,  and  the 
method  of  redemption  would  seem  to  be  a  failure, 
if  we  could  contemplate  only  the  past  and  the 
present.  There  are  scenes  unspeakably  more 
glorious  than  these.  It  is  not  the  present  glory 
of  his  clmrcli^  glorious  as  she  is,  nor  liis  present 
gloiy,  exalted  as  he  is  at  the  right  hand  of  majesty 
in  the  heavens,  which  the  revealing  Spirit  unfolds. 
It  is  the  glory  that  sliall  be  when  the  triumphs  of 
Christianity  are  consummated  on  the  earth,  and 
the  Sufferer  of  Calvary  shall  rejoice  "  over  his 
redeemed  with  joy,  shall  joy  over  them  with. 
singing,  and  rest  in  his  love."  It  is  the  glory 
that  sJiall  be  when  the  ages  so  anxiously  looked 
for  and  intensely  enjoyed,  shall  have  come  and 
gone  ;  when  the  light  and  love  of  a  progres- 
sivel}^  holy  world  shall  find  a  mirror  in  every 
bosom ;  when  all  that  faith  believed,  and  hope 
anticipated,  and  a  sanctified  imagination  had  tried 
to  picture,  shall  be  realized  in  its  growing  knowl- 
edge, holiness,  and  joy.  Nay,  it  is  the  glory  that 
sliall  be,  when  things  seen  and  temporal  shall  be 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        175 

lost  sight  of  in  those  that  are  unseen  and  eternal, 
and  when  redeemed  men  shall  j^ress  forward  to 
their  equality  with  angels.  It  is  the  embryo  be- 
ing and  the  embryo  glory  now  ;  for  now  the  God 
of  Israel  is  a  God  "  that  hideth  himself."  What 
has  been,  what  is,  may  well  be  lost  in  the  pros- 
pect of  what  will  be. 

This  leads  to  our  last  remark,  which  is,  that 
Christ  iti  his  millennial  glory  ivill  reign  during  a 
sufficiently  long  i)eriod  to  secure  the  great  objects 
hotlh  of  his  humiliation  and  his  exaltation.  We 
do  not  feel  warranted  in  speaking,  with  anything 
like  precision,  if  the  time  during  which  the  Mil- 
lennium will  continue.  It  is  one  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  divine  government,  that  the  great  objects 
of  Christ's  Redemption  have  not  been  more  ex- 
tensively attained,  and  are  even  now  being  ac- 
complished so  tardily.  The  greatness  of  the  de- 
sign may  not  be  estimated  by  the  extent  to  which 
it  has  already  been  accomplished.  "  God  is  not 
slack  concerning  his  promise,  as  some  men  count 
slackness."  The  reason  why,  after  so  long  time, 
it  has  not  been  more  fully  accomplished,  is  found 
in  the  very  magnitude  of  the  design  itself.  It 
cannot  be  accomplished  in  a  century.  Eighteen 
centuries  have  passed  away,  and  it  is  still  a  pro- 
gressive work.  Its  peculiar  glory  is  that  every 
part  of  it  is  so  arranged  as  to  express  the  aug- 
mented and  progressive  glories  of  its  great  Authoi*. 


176  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

"  God  laatli  made  all  things  for  himself."  His 
great  object  is  to  show  forth  the  undiscovered  and 
unsearchable  glories  of  his  nature  by  such  means, 
and  in  such  progressive  manifestations,  as  shall  be 
most  clearly  seen,  most  deeply  felt,  and  most  ad- 
mired and  adored.  No  sudden  effulgence  can  ef- 
fect this :  he  has  resources  which  cannot  be  thus 
exhausted.  It  were  a  low  and  unreasonable  con- 
ception of  the  Deity,  to  suppose  that  all  the 
features  of  any  one  of  his  designs  are  fully  made 
known. 

We  know  not  how  many  years  will  pass  away 
before  the  day  of  millennial  glory  will  begin. 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  well  remarks,  that  "  prophecy 
was  not  designed  to  make  men  prophets."  We 
have  no  desire  to  commit,  or  even  trust  ourselves 
.with  any  numerical  calculations  on  a  subject 
where  so  many  minds  have  been  at  fault,  and 
where  enthusiasm,  or  despondency  have  so  much 
to  do  with  forming  the  opinions  of  men.  The 
four  thousand  years  that  were  preparatory  to  the 
Saviour's  incarnation,  were  but  the  morning  of  a 
bright  and  prolonged  day.  God's  moral  arrange- 
ments, like  everything  else  which  he  does,  con- 
template events  in  their  order.  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  like  seed  cast  into  the  ground  ;  first 
Cometh  up  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  The  fairest  portions  of  Christen- 
dom have  scarcely  seen  the  '•'  corn  in  the  ear ;" 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        177 

by  far  the  larger  portions  of  the  earth  remain  as 
yet  fallow  ground,  which  is  yet  to  be  broken  up. 
The  Millennium  will  no  doubt  come  on  gradually, 
though  rapidly.  Preparations  are  now  being 
made  for  it ;  but  the  scene  has  not  yet  begun  to 
open.  Curtain  after  curtain  is  yet  to  be  with- 
drawn, ere  the  world  obtains  a  glimpse  of  the 
dawning  glory.  It  is  a  mistaken  notion  that  it  is 
to  be  introduced  and  sustained  by  miracle^  except 
so  far  as  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  super- 
natural. It  is  the  work  of  faith  and  the  "  labor 
of  love ;"  a  faith  that  is  human,  and  a  power  that 
is  divine ;  a  faith  that  gathers  strength  and  ex- 
pectation from  every  instance  of  success  and 
every  new  attainment,  and  a  power  that  neither 
intermits  nor  relaxes  its  energy  until  "  the  zeal  of 
the  Lord  of  hosts"  shall  have  accomplished  its 
gracious  purpose. 

When  we  look  at  the  prevalence  of  false  re- 
ligions, and  more  especially  those  systems  of  error 
that  prerail  throughout  the  oriental  nations,  and 
that  are  so  venerable  for  age,  so  incrusted  by  the 
accumulations  of  centuries,  and  so  deeply  imbed- 
ded in  the  science,  the  morals,  and  social  institu- 
tions of  millions ;  it  would  seem  to  border  on  the 
expectations  of  romance  to  look  for  the  time  when 
these  vast  mountains  of  ignorance  and  wicked- 
ness shall  melt  away.  There  are  not  many  visible 
indications  of  decay  in  any  of  the  great  antichris- 


178  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

tiau  powers  or  systems ;  nor  is  the  sanctuary  it- 
self yet  cleansed.  We  may  not  look  for  tlie  dawn 
of  the  latter-day  glory  until  there  are  some  more 
significant  indications  of  these  great  changes. 
There  will  be,  as  we  have  seen,  days  of  great  dark- 
ness and  suffering  and  bloody  persecution  in  re- 
serve for  the  church  of  God,  before  Satan  shall  be 
bound  ;  yet  in  a  little  time  "  he  that  shall  come 
will  come,  and  will  not  tarry."  Christ  Avill  prove 
himself  the  triumphant  conqueror.  He  Avill  "  bruise 
the  head  of  the  serpent,"  and  crush  his  power.  It 
is  not  the  majority  of  our  race  over  whom  the  devil 
will  triumph,  and  whom  he  will  drag  down  to  per- 
dition, but  a  meagre  minority.  As  a  section  of 
the  divine  empire,  this  world  belongs  to  Christ;  in 
defiance  of  the  past  and  present  dominion  of  the 
adversary,  he  will  reign  over  it.  He  will  take  his 
own  time  to  make  the  conquest ;  nor  is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  that  his  millennial  reign  will  in- 
clude prolonged  ages  of  his  power. 

The  Scriptures  speak  of  a  thousand  years ^  during 
which  Satan  shall  be  chained ;  but  they  do  not 
intimate  whether  these  thousand  years  include 
only  the  meridian  glory  of  that  age  of  mercy,  or 
whether  they  include  its  gradual  dawn  and  close. 
They  simply  instruct  us  that  his  power  shall  be 
crippled  for  a  tlwusand  years.  Whether  this 
period  be  literally  a  thousand  years,  or  whether  a 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST'S  MILLENNIAL  REIGN.        179 

round  number  of  years  is  thus  designed  to  indicate 
an  indefinite  and  long  period ;  or  whether,  count- 
ing a  day  for  a  year,  which  is  revealed  as  the  pro- 
phetic counting,  it  comprises  three  Imindred  and 
sixty  thousand  years  ;  are  questions  on  which  great 
and  good  men  have  entertained  different  views. 
The  most  welcome  conclusion  certainly  is  the  last ; 
but  we  can  only  say  that  in  a  book  so  symbolical 
and  figurative  as  the  Apocalypse,  it  is  not  proba- 
ble that  the  "  thousand  years"  are  to  be  under- 
stood literally.  We  can  affirm  with  certainty 
that  there  will  be  a  sufficiently  long  period,  during 
which  Christianity  will  have  a  free  and  unob- 
structed course  in  the  world ;  and  men  and  na- 
tions, unembarrassed  by  the  deceptions  of  the 
adversary,  and  uncontrolled  by  his  power,  will 
flock  to  the  universally-erected  standard  of  the 
cross.  The  work  to  be  accomplished  is  no  small 
work,  and  the  happy  period  allotted  to  it  is  no 
short  and  transient  age.  It  is  no  vain  hope  that 
generations  shall  yet  exist,  which,  in  long  and  un- 
broken series,  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  thus  come 
in  his  glory.  And  when  these  have  travelled 
on  and  travelled  far,  subsequent  generations,  in 
a  more  distant  and  brighter  stage  of  this  the 
world's  spiritual  progress,  shall  behold  still  bright- 
ter  glories,  till  their  progress  verges  toward  the 
hemisphere  where  the  sun  never  goes  down.  Their 


;lg()  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

days  shall  be  as  the  days  of  heaven  upon  the 
earth.  It  is  the  great  -glory  of  God's  eternal 
Son,  illuminating  all,  encompassing  all,  the  atmo- 
sphere in  which  all  live  and  move  and  have  their 
being. 


I 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PEACTICAL   DEDUCTIONS    FROM   THE   DOCTEINE   OF 
THE   MILLENNIUM. 

We  have  reserved  a  separate  chapter  from  some 
practical  deductions  of  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of 
the  Millennium,  because  we  could  not,  without 
embarrassment,  crowd  our  thoughts  within  a  nar- 
rower compass. 

The  first  remark  which  suggests  itself  in  review- 
ing this  cheering  subject  relates  to  the  importance 
of  having  our  minds  deeply  imhued  with  the  fact 
that  brighter  days  are  yet  to  dawn  upon  this  lost 
world.  There  is  no  fact  more  delightful,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  future  history  of  man,  than  that  the 
Redeemer  is  to  reign  in  millennial  glory  on  the 
earth.  This  is  humanity's  hope.  Come  what  will 
beside,  this  one  thing  we  know,  the  Millennium 
will  come.  Be  the  darkness  ever  so  great  that 
precedes  it,  and  the  convulsions  ever  so  many  and 
severe,  and  the  conflicts  ever  so  agitating;  the 
pure  light  of  heaven  will  yet  dawn  without  a  cloud, 
revolutions  and  war  shall  be  no  more,  and  there 


183  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

shall  i)e  "  abundance  of  peace  so  long  as  the  moon 
endureth."  Human  wickedness  may  be  greatly- 
prevalent,  and  wicked  men  and  nations  possess 
great  poAver;  but  not  more  certainly  is  there  a 
God  in  heaven,  than  "  the  righteous  shall  inherit 
the  earth,"  and  that  "  for  yet  a  little  while  and  the 
wicked  shall  not  be,  yea  thou  shalt  diligently  con- 
sider his  place,  and  it  shall  not  be." 

The  government  of  God  needs  this  great  re- 
vealed  tact  in  order  to  dissipate  the  clouds  and 
darkness  that  surround  his  throne.  We  are  not 
without  evidence  in  the  dispensations  of  his  prov- 
idence that  he  now  supei'intends  the  affairs  of  men  ; 
but  the  day  is  coming  when  his  hand  will  be  more 
conspicuous,  and  his  gracious  designs  be  more  fully 
comprehended.  When  the  Apostle  John  in  the 
Apocalypse  beheld  the  woman  that  "  sat  upon  the 
scarlet  colored  Beast"  upon  whose  forehead  "  a- 
name  was  written  Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great, 
the  Mother  of  Harlots  and  Abominations  of  the 
Earth,"  and  saw  her  "  drunken  with  the  blood  of 
the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the'mai-tyrs  of 
Jesus ;"  he  makes  this  emphatic  observation :  "  And 
when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  ivith  great  admirationP 
Good  men  in  every  age  have  stood  surpi'ised  and 
in  amazement  at  scenes  and  events  so  full  of  suc- 
cessful uickedness  that  they  have  been  tempted 
to  feel,  that  *'•  the  Lord  seeth  not,  the  Lord  hath 
forsaken  the  earth."     It  is  true  that  Eternity  will 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS  183 

clear  up  these  inscrutable  things ;  but  what  sym- 
metry and  beauty  does  it  give  to  the  system  of 
revealed  truth  that  these  clouds  are  even  now  dis- 
persed by  the  light  of  prophecy,  and  that  we  have 
the  perfect  assurance  that  during  the  thousand 
years  Avhen  the  Spirit  of  God  will  be  poured  from 
on  high,  the  wickedness  and  the  miseries  of  the 
past  shall  be  forgotten  in  scenes  which  earth  and 
heaven  behold  with  transport ! 

Does  not  the  church  of  God  also  need  this  great 
revealed  fact  in  order  to  remind  her  of  her  his^h 
destiny  ?  It  is  not  easy  for  us  to  conceive  what 
Christianity  is  destined  to  accomplish.  We  have 
often  spoken  of  it  as  God's  greatest  work,  and  as 
embodying  the  highest  interests  of  his  kingdom. 
Yet  its  progress  has  been  so  interrupted  and  slow, 
that  even  now  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  centuries, 
they  are  but  the  orient  dawnings  of  the  Sun  of 
risrhteousness  that  have  risen  on  the  earth  in  which 
we  dwell.  A  thoughtless  and  giddy  world  may 
flatter  themselves  that  the  church  of  God  has  no 
higher  destination  than  this;  that  these  are  the 
extent  of  her  victories,  and  that  here  her  horizon 
terminates.  But  thoui^h  the  moments  seem  to 
linger  and  the  lapse  of  time  is  slow ;  the  Chris- 
tian's eye  is  fixed  on  these  last  days  as  the  great 
triumphs  of  truth  and  holiness. 

There  is  some  obscurity  in  the  details  of  this 
predicted  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  but 


184  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

there  is  so  mucli  that  is  luminous  in  the  results, 
that  fiiith  and  hope  live  in  the  brightness  of  the 
anticipation.  There  is  nothing  visionary  in  the 
most  generous  expectations  of  all  that  is  desirable 
and  delightful  in  those  days  when  Christianity 
shall  fulfil  its  office  among  men,  and  accomplish 
the  end  for  which  she  was  sent  fi-om  heaven. 
When  the  ancient  church  was  an  exile  in  Baby- 
lon, she  hung  her  harp  upon  the  willows ;  she 
wept  sore  in  the  night,  and  her  tears  were  on  her 
cheeks.  They  are  days  of  exile  which  remain  for 
a  little  while  for  the  church  of  God  that  is  now 
on  the  earth.  Judah  is  gone  into  captivity  be- 
cause of  affliction.  The  ways  of  Zion  do  mourn 
because  few  come  to  her  solemn  feasts ;  all  that 
pass  by  clap  their  hands  at  her ;  they  hiss  and 
waof  their  head  at  the  dau2:hter  of  Jerusalem. 
But  these  days  of  her  mourning  shall  shortly  be 
ended.  Blessings,  rich  and  pure  as  the  heavens 
from  which  they  descend,  shall  mark  her  progress 
as  she  returns  and  comes  to  her  promised  glory 
with  singing.  There  is  ripe  fruit  to  be  gath- 
ered from  the  seed  that  is  now  being  scattered, 
and  health  and  salvation  from  the  tree  whose 
leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  They 
are  the  most  glorious  revelations  of  the  future, 
which  God  has  made  known.  We  chide  ourselves 
that  we  do  not  give  them  that  place  in  our 
thoughts    and    affections    which    their   inimitable 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  185 

ricliness  and  beauty  demand,  and  are  constrained 
to  look  upon  this  deficiency  as  indicating  a  low 
state  of  piety  in  our  own  hearts.  When  the 
Christian  ministry,  and  the  Christian  church  be- 
come deeply  imbued  with  these  great  truths,  it 
will  become  such  a  ministry  and  such  a  church  as 
the  world  has  not  seen  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles. 

We  cannot  help  feeling  that  there  is  a  value 
and  sacredness  in  this  doctrine  of  the  Millennium 
which  we  may  well  contemplate  on  our  bended 
knees.  It  is  heavenward  in  all  its  tendencies  and 
influence.  There  is  no  remorse  in  such  anticipa- 
tions ;  nor  do  I  know  that  there  is  even  any  temp- 
tation to  extravagance  and  sin.  Victor  Hugo 
once  said  "  that  the  law  which  rules  the  world  is 
not,  cannot  be  different  from  the  law  of  God." 
The  man  in  whose  creed  this  thought  is  most  inti- 
mately inwoven,  in  whose  heart  it  is  most  deeply 
imbedded,  and  whose  dejDortment  is  most  under 
its  control,  other  things  being  equal,  will  be  the 
holiest,  the  most  useful,  and  the  happiest  man. 
The  man  who  uttered  this  sublime  truth  we  all 
know  is  not  a  man  who  is  living  for  the  Millen- 
nium. This  single  anticipation,  intelligently  cher- 
ished in  the  bosoms  of  princes  and  statesmen,  dif- 
fused throughout  the  various  social  organizations, 
and  disseminated  over  the  earth,  would  be  like  a 
new  power  from  the  armory  of  heaven  by  which 


186  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  world  would  be  subjugated  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  "  He  shall  have  dominion  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth."  What  a  powerful  truth  is  this  to  take 
hold  of  the  human  intellect,  to  inspire  human 
genius,  and  to  consecrate  human  piety !  Dwell 
upon  it ;  teach  it ;  instil  it  into  the  infant  mind. 
Let  the  pulpit  bear  witness  to  it ;  carry  it  to  the 
halls  of  legislation  ;  let  literature  and  the  arts, 
and  commerce  honor  it.  Let  it  go  forth  to  the 
world  as  man's  inheritance,  as  heaven's  harbinger 
of  good-will  to  the  race. 

A  second  remark  suggested  by  these  views  of 
the  Millennium  is,  that  no  oilier  agencies  are  neces- 
sary in  order  to  secure  this  glorious  consummation 
than  those  which  the  church  of  God  already  enjoys. 
Just  before  the  Saviour  ascended  to  his  heavenly 
throne,  he  gave  the  commission  to  his  apostles,  "  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always  even 
to  the  end  of  the  world."  These  are  the  promised 
agencies  by  which  men  are  to  be  converted  in 
every  age  of  time.  The  truths  of  the  gospel  and 
the  presence  of  Christy  these,  and  these  alone,  are 
adequate  to  the  introduction  and  perfection  of 
millennial  glory.  His  gospel,  with  all  its  sacred 
institutions  and  influences  imparted  to  all  classes 
of  men  and  all  nations,  and  his  presence  in  the 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  187 

kingdoms  of  providence  and  grace  are  pledged  to 
accomplish  this  great  work. 

The  truth  of  God  and  his  Spirit  are  the  mflu- 
ences  which  have  penetrated  the  mass  of  human 
society,  and  by  which  so  large  portions  of  it  have 
become  already  transformed.  And  what  is  true 
of  the  past  will  be  true  of  the  future.  Of  the 
brightest  days  of  the  Millennium  nothing  more 
can  be  said  than  was  affirmed  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost, that  "  Jesus,  being  by  the  right  hand  of 
God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father 
the  pi'omise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  shed  forth 
this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear." 

We  have  heard  much  of  the  law  of  jyrogress^ 
and  that,  in  the  natural  course  of  human  events, 
the  world  is  growing  better.  We,  too,  are  believ- 
ers in  the  law  of  progress ;  but  it  is  not  nature's 
progress ;  it  is  not  the  progress  of  the  human  in- 
tellect or  the  human  heart;  it  is  not  the  progress 
of  human  legislation  or  the  science  of  human  gov- 
ernment, uncontrolled  by  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  All  history  shows  that  without  Christian- 
ity all  the  tendencies  of  our  nature  are  evil.  We 
look  with  concern  upon  the  dreams  of  those  mod- 
ern philanthropists  who  expect  to  see  the  world 
transformed  in  its  moral  character  by  agencies 
which  acknowledge  neither  the  truth  nor  the 
power  of  the  ascended  Saviour.  All  other  agen- 
cies are  powerless.     There  is  no  law  of  progress 


188  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

except  this.  Men  who  have  conceived  this  idea 
of  the  necessary  and  resistless  progress  in  human 
affairs,  have  caught  this  impression  from  those 
bright  periods  in  man's  history  in  which  his  moral 
advancement  has  emphatically  indicated  the  de- 
velopment of  the  divine  purposes  of  mercy  toward 
our  race.  They  overlook  the  thought  that  these 
purposes  have  been  carried  into  effect  by  a  power 
that  is  superhuman.  The  Bible  is  as  truly 
suited  to  one  age  as  another.  No  matter  how 
rapid,  and  how  far  advanced  the  progress ;  the 
Bible  will  ever  be  foremost  in  the  race  of  im- 
provement. The  same  is  true  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Shut  out  God's  truth  from  the  minds  of 
men ;  exclude  the  renovating  power  of  his  Spirit, 
and  the  direction  of  his  almighty  providence ;  and 
the  character  of  our  race  will  become  not  station- 
ary only,  but  retrograde.  Our  confidence  is  weak- 
ened in  the  wisdom  of  men  with  every  passing 
year.  We  look  with  suspicion  upon  all  those  ar- 
rangements and  alliances  by  which  they  hope  to 
renovate  the  world,  irrespective  of  the  truth  and 
power  of  God.  It  is  something  better  which  we 
are  hoping  for,  and  to  a  more  simple  agency  and 
a  higher  power  that  we  look.  If  our  woi-ld  is 
made  better,  the  work  is  to  be  done  by  Chiistian- 
ity.  If  the  Millennium  ever  arrive,  the  work  will 
be  done  not  by  science,  nor  by  human  legislation, 
but  by  Christianity ;  Christianity  will  prepare  the 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  189 

way  for  it  by  its  patient  collision  with  every  sys- 
tem of  error  in  cliurch  and  in  state,  in  individual 
man  and  in  aggregate  society.  Christianity  will 
introduce  and  perpetuate  it  by  the  power  of  its 
living  and  reigning  Prince.  It  will  be  the  sword 
of  his  Spirit  cutting  its  way  through  the  very  heart 
of  the  nations,  and  multiplying  its  triumphs  till 
the  predicted  consummation  shall  come. 

In  these  two  things,  the  truth  of  Christ  and  his 
Spirit,  are  comprised  all  those  moral  influences  which 
act  effectively  upon  the  minds  of  men.  The  strength 
of  all  permanent  reform  lies  thus  in  the  power  of 
Christianity.  That  peculiar  and  excitable  state  of 
the  public  mind  which  gives  rise  to  spasmodic  ef- 
forts to  restrain  and  subdue  the  vices  of  men,  is  not 
what  the  condition  of  our  world  calls  for.  We 
honor  those  associations  whose  object  is  the  sup- 
pression of  human  wickedness ;  but  if  we  look  into 
the  Scriptures  we  shall  find  that  even  those  moral 
virtues  which  adorn  the  character  of  good  men 
are  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit."  God  is  wiser  than 
man,  and  better  knows  access  to  the  human  heart. 
What  the  world  requires  is  the  conservative  influ- 
ence of  God's  truth,  enlightening  the  public  con- 
cience,  imparting  a  strong  sense  of  rectitude, 
deep  impressions  of  human  dependence  and  re- 
sponsibility, and  confidence  in  God.  The  destitute 
and  wretched  condition  of  the  masses  and  their 
reckless  vices  will  find  no  permanent  relief  except 


190  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

in  the  truth  and  Spirit  of  the  Great  Healer.  It  is 
the  dream  of  idiocy  to  look  for  any  permanent 
melioration  of  individual  or  social  wrong  except 
from  the  influence  of  Christianity.  It  is  no  marvel 
that  the  truth  of  God  is  studiously  protected  from 
the  inspection  of  the  people,  where  the  policy  of 
Princes  is  to  keep  them  in  bondage.  Rome  fears 
nothing  so  much  as  the  unembarrassed  dissemina- 
tion of  God's  truth.  Recent  as  well  as  ancient 
facts  in  her  history  proclaim  alike  her  shame  and 
her  weakness.  This  crusade  of  the  Papal  hierarchy 
against  the  Bible  is  the  most  emphatic  exposition 
of  its  "  universal  declaration  of  war  against  free- 
dom." If  these  fair  lands  in  which  we  ourselves 
dwell,  ever  prove  themselves  recreant  to  the  high 
and  inestimable  trust  committed  to  them  by  their 
sainted  Fathers,  it  will  be  by  their  national  de- 
parture from  Christianity.  Nothing  but  this  in 
the  wide  universe  can  hold  us  together,  and  induce 
us  to  hold  fast  that  we  have,  that  no  man  take  our 
crown.  Social  and  political  convulsions  may  be 
directed  by  the  wisdom  of  statesmen,  or  be  held 
in  check  for  a  while  by  the  strong  arm  of  military 
power;  but  there  must  be  another  remedy  for 
local  jealousies  and  fermenting  discontent;  and 
that  remedy  is  the  "  righteousness  which  exalteth  a 
nation."  Christian  principles  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  all  order,  government  and  godliness.  That  na- 
tion will  bear  the  most  honored  part  in  introdu- 


( 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  191 

cing  the  Millennium  which  most  fears  God  and 
keeps  his  commandments.  Give  the  world  the 
gospel  and  the  presence  of  its  divine  Author,  and 
the  Millennium  is  begun. 

We  remark  therefore  again;  the  view  which 
has  been  presented  of  the  Millennium  urges  the 
friends  of  God  of  every  name  to  vigorous  and 
combined  efforts  for  the  introduction  of  that  prom- 
ised day  of  their  Redeemer\s  glory.  The  agencies 
by  which  it  is  to  be  brought  about  are  put  into 
their  hands  for  the  purpose  of  being  employed , 
nor  can  they  throw  off  these  solemn  obligations 
of  duty,  of  love  to  Christ  and  love  to  this  lost 
world  to  employ  them  diligently.  The  Millennium 
will  not  come  while  good  men  are  asleep.  It  is 
then  that  the  enemy  sows  tares.  Nor  will  it  come 
so  long  as  they  are  employed  exclusively  in  their 
secular  occupations,  and  living  to  themselves.  We 
know  not  the  power  they  may  exert  in  preparing 
the  way  for  their  divine  Lord.  Men  who  have 
the  gospel  may  send  it  everywhere,  at  home  and 
abroad.  They  may  send  it  with  that  mighty 
agency,  the  presence  of  its  divine  Author,  when- 
ever they  are  so  intent  on  securing  it  as  to  give 
him  no  rest  until  "  he  make  Jerusalem  a  name  and 
a  praise  in  the  earth."  The  prediction  was  once 
uttered,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  that  there  shall 
come  people  and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities ; 
and  the  inhabitants  of  one  city  shall  go  unto  an- 


192  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

other,  saying,  Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the 
Lord^  and  to  seek  the  Lord  of  Hosts ;  I  will  go 
also.  Yea,  many  people  and  strong  nations  shall 
come  to  seek  the  Lord  of  Hosts  in  Jerusalem,  and 
to  pray  before  the  LordP  What  a  sight  will  this 
be,  when,  not  individuals  only,  but  churches ;  and 
not  churches  only,  but  nations ;  and  not  nations 
only,  but  many  people  and  strong  nations,  nations 
pre-eminent  in  power,  nations  distinguished  for 
wealth  and  literature,  renowned  in  civilization,  in 
arts  and  in  arms,  in  solemn  and  delightful  concert, 
go  to  "  pray  before  the  Lord !" 

Such  a  scene  we  have  never  witnessed ;  in  the 
present  disjointed  and  jarring  state  of  Christen- 
dom, the  time  seems  far  distant  when  the  sun  will 
shine  upon  such  a  scene  as  this.  The  importance 
given  to  party  shibboleths,  and  the  intolerance 
with  which  they  are  sustained — the  mutual  jeal- 
ousies and  apprehensions  which  find  their  way  even 
into  the  more  evangelical  churches — the  suspicions 
which  are  fostered  against  institutions  that  are 
based  upon  the  broad  basis  of  a  common  Cliristian- 
ity — the  isolated  and  almost  monastic  training  and 
habits  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  the  reluctance 
of  pi'ivate  Christians  to  co-operate  in  those  religious 
and  spiritual  services  which  so  greatly  advance  the 
kingdom  of  their  Master — the  zeal  and  extrava- 
gance of  good  men  in  pushing  some  favorite  meas- 
ure of  ultra  reform,  to  the  neglect  of  the  divinely 


rRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  193 

instituted  methods  by  God's  truth  and  Spirit — the 
diminution  in  numbers  and  siDirituality  of  men  de- 
voted to  the  sacred  office — the  thirst  for  novelty 
in  the  pulpit  to  the  neglect  of  the  solid  and  sub- 
stantial truths  of  the  gospel — the  neglect  of  re- 
ligion by  the  young,  and  the  growing  indifference 
to  this  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  old — the  all-ab- 
sorbing influence  of  the  world,  and  the  melancholy 
control  which  its  social  splendor  exercises  over 
men  and  women  professing  godliness — the  un- 
wonted apathy  of  the  church  of  God  in  this  and 
other  lands,  unmindful  of  mercies  and  unmindful 
of  judgments — all  these  indicate  that  the  spirit  of 
fervent  prayer,  and  the  stimulus  to  united  effort 
for  the  gloi'ious  jireseuce  of  the  Son  of  Man  are 
greatly  wanting  in  the  age  in  Avhich  we  live. 

These  things  must,  and  will  be  repented  of  and 
reformed,  before  the  coming  of  that  predicted  day. 
There  must  be  another  spirit  in  ministers  and  in 
churches,  before  Zion  becomes  a  light  to  the  na- 
tions, and  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  It 
will  not  be  amid  such  a  state  of  things  that  the 
standard  is  set  up  to  which  the  outcasts  of  Israel 
shall  be  gathered,  and  the  dispersed  of  Judah 
shall  assemble.  Were  the  7nen  and  the  means 
which  have,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  been  so  un- 
successfully employed  in  promoting  objects  which 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  more  effectually  pro- 
motes, there  would  have  been  fewer  divisions  in 

VOL.  II.  9 


194  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  cliurcli  and  in  the  state,  and  the  spirit  with 
which  they  are  imbued  would  have  been  less  ran- 
corous. The  church  of  Christ  is,  by  the  organiza- 
tion of  her  great  Head,  one  cliurcli^  and  her  inter- 
ests are  one.  She  is  not  an  isolated  community ; 
her  dwelling-place  is  among  men.  She  may  not 
maintain  the  j^osition  of  indifference  and  prayer- 
lessness ;  nor  a  selfish  and  iron-hearted  policy ;  nor 
inactivity  of  any  kind  in  the  midst  of  so  much  ig- 
norance, superstition,  idolatry,  impiety  and  crime. 
The  crreat  end  of  her  existence  is  the  instruction 

o 

and  conversion  of  the  tuorld.  She  is  a  Missionary 
Community,  and  from  her  very  nature  and  laws,  a 
community  for  the  promotion  of  every  good  work. 
So  far  as  religious  objects  are  concerned,  she  is  her- 
self the  great  voluntary  society  of  the  earth,  under 
a  high  and  heaven-born  organization.  Her  prin- 
ciples are  principles  of  peace,  of  temperance,  of 
purity,  and  of  all  that  is  lovely  and  of  good  report. 
If  she  would  but  be  true  to  her  principles,  she 
forms  the  best  organization  for  the  accomplishment 
of  all  those  great  and  important  events  which  her 
exalted  Saviour  lives  to  accomplish.  Her  minis- 
ters, her  officers,  her  members  are  by  their  cove- 
nanted allegiance  to  their  celestial  Leader,  as  well 
as  by  their  own  mutual  engagements,  pledged  to 
seek  nothing  so  earnestly  as  the  universal  triumph 
of  his  kingdom.  It  is  no  marvel  that  her  light 
wanes,  her  energy  becomes  feeble,  and  her  glory 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  195 

obscured,  when  she  loses  sight  of  the  great  end  for 
which  she  Avas  called  by  his  truth,  washed  in  his 
blood,  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit.  She  needs  a 
more  self-denying  heart,  and  one  that  is  more  sen- 
sitive to  the  endearments  of  redeeming  love.  She 
needs  a  conscience  exercised  for  the  Millennium^ 
and  one  that  speaks  in  higher  tones  of  authority 
and  decision.  There  is  no  lack  of  encouragement 
in  this  high  source ;  nor  is  there  any  higher,  or 
more  hallowed  impulse,  than  that  it  is  the  glory 
of  her  ascended  and  reigniug  Saviour  which  that 
illustrious  day  Avill  secure.  Never  was  there  a 
period  of  the  woi-ld  in  which  his  glory  ought  to 
incite  to  nobler  thoughts  and  deeds,  or  in  which 
her  hopes  ought  to  be  higher  or  more  regaled. 

Our  next  observation  relates  to  the  signs  of 
tlie  times^  and  the  indications  they  furnish  of 
the  approach  of  this  latter  day  of  glory.  The 
history  of  the  past  is  a  most  instructive  his- 
tory. As  we  look  back  on  1800  years,  we  see 
that  Christianity,  though  not  without  severe  con- 
flicts, and  some  seasons  of  deep  depression,  has 
been  making  rapid  advances.  Within  less  than 
a  century  after  the  death  of  its  Founder,  one  of 
its  strongest  holds  Avas  in  the  capital  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire;  in  the  fourth  century,  it  was  the 
established  religion  of  the  Empire  itself  It  was 
diffused  through  all  its  pi-ovinces,  was  embraced 
by   barbarous  and   invading  nations,  was  subse- 


196  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

quently  handed  down  to  the  nations  of  modern 
Europe,  and  is  now  the  professed  religion  of  the 
most  civihzed  and  enlightened  parts  of  the  world. 
In  all  this  progress,  this  one  fact  has  been  de- 
lightfully demonstrated, — that  Christianity  con- 
sults the  best  interests  of  men,  not  for  eternity 
only,  but  also  for  time.  Just  in  the  proportion  in 
which  it  has  had  free  course,  have  the  temporal 
blessings  of  the  Millennium  stood  abreast  with  its 
progress.  Civil  and  religious  liberty  have  trodden 
in  her  footsteps  ;  literature  and  science  have  been 
her  adornment ;  and  if  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  has  not  always  given  Christian  nations  that 
physical  power  which  has  been  exercised  by  some 
that  are  antichristian,  he  has  given  them  a  moral 
influence  in  the  world  which  is  more  powerful. 
He  has  also  given  them  physical  power.  To  say 
nothins:  of  our  own  land,  w^e  have  but  to  look  at 
the  Chi'istian  and  Protestant  nations  of  Europe, 
in  order  to  perceive  the  authority  which  they 
have  exerted,  and  still  exert  in  the  world.  What 
land  holds  so  commanding  a  position  among  the 
nations  as  the  little  island  of  Great  Britain, 
spreading  her  dominions  as  she  does,  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  the  human  family, 
swaying  her  sceptre  beyond  the  utmost  bounda- 
ries of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  embracing  a  terri- 
tory on  which  the  sun  never  ceases  to  shine  ?  Her 
language  is  spoken  in  the  East  and  in  the  West, 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  197 

and  her  institutions  have  taken  root  in  a  soil 
occupied  by  one  sixth  part  of  the  human  race. 
While  the  foundations  of  the  principal  European 
states  have  been  shaken  by  political  convul- 
sions, her  social  fabric  has  stood  firm ;  God  has 
made  her  the  great  bulwark  of  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity; and  notwithstanding  all  her  faults,  she 
now  lives  to  bless  the  world.  Compare  her  con- 
dition at  the  present  hour,  with  her  condition  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century ;  and  how 
marvellous  the  change  !  Kead  the  third  chapter 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  "  History  of  England" 
by  Thomas  Babington  Macaulay,  and  you  will  see 
a  change,  as  almost  by  magic,  and  one  to  which 
the  history  of  the  Old  World  furnishes  no  paral- 
lel. Kead  the  slight  sketch  indeed  which  is  pre- 
sented by  the  same  elegant  and  forcible  historian 
in  his  first  chapter,  and  you  will  see  when  and  how 
it  was  that  the  light  began  to  break  on  that  once 
dark  land.  Nor  are  we  so  much  surprised  as  grat- 
ified to  hear  this  author  say,  "  Unless  I  greatly  de- 
ceive myself,  the  general  effect  of  this  checkered 
narrative  will  be  to  excite  thankfulness  in  all  re- 
ligious mincls^  and  hope  in  the  breast  of  all  patriots ; 
for  the  history  of  our  country  during  the  last 
hundred  and  sixty  years  is  eminently  the  history 
of  physical,  of  moral,  and  of  intellectual  improve- 
ment. Those  who  compare  the  age  in  which  their 
lot  has  fallen  with  a  golden  age  which  exists  only 


198  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

in  the  imagination,  may  talk  of  degeneracy  and 
decay ;  but  no  man  who  is  correctly  informed  as 
to  the  past  will  be  disposed  to  take  a  morose  or 
desponding  view  of  the  present." 

If  from  Great  Britain,  we  look  to  the  Scandi- 
navian nations  of  the  North,  comprising  Denmark, 
Sweden,  and  Norway,  we  discover,  if  not  equal, 
yet  real  indications  of  the  same  progress.  What 
were  the  ancient  Celts  and  Goths  compared  with 
the  modern  Danes^  but  a  nest  of  merciless  and 
ferocious  pirates  who  were  distinguished  by  their 
hatred  of  the  Christian  name,  and  their  terror  to 
all  Europe  ?  What  was  Sweden  in  the  days  of 
Tacitus  compared  with  Sweden  after  she  was 
converted  to  Christianity  at  the  close  of  the 
eleventh  century  ;  and  more  especially  compared 
with  what  she  was  in  the  days  of  Luther,  and  un- 
der the  reign  of  the  religious,  the  humane,  and  yet 
the  invincible  Gustavus  Adolphus ;  and  with  what 
she  was  in  our  own  days,  under  Bernadotte. 
What  was  Nortuay^  the  most  interesting,  but  the 
least  known  of  all  the  countries  of  ancient  Scan- 
dinavia, that  land  of  lake  and  mountain,  and  pagan 
necromancy,  until  the  period  when  the  followei-s 
of  Luther  gave  them  the  Sabbath  and  the  Bible. 

If  from  these  you  pass  to  the  more  central  na- 
tions of  Europe,  and  look  at  ancient  Germany, 
ignorant  of  arts  and  agriculture,  with  no  cities  and 
no  villages ;   no  temples,  but  groves  and  forests 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  199 

where  they  worshipped  the  sun,  the  fire,  and  the 
earth  ;  or  if  you  inspect  her  provinces  after  the 
conquest  by  Julius  Caesar  ;  or  if  you  advert  to  her 
intellectual  and  religious  character  as  they  existed 
under  the  Papal  See;  and  then  compare  them 
with  what  they  have  been  since  the  great  Refor- 
mation ;  you  cannot  but  perceive  that,  notwith- 
standing the  pernicious  effect  of  her  philosophy, 
falsely  so  called,  the  efforts  of  her  reformers,  and 
the  learning  of  her  universities  have  contributed 
largely  to  the  growth  of  true  religion  in  Protes- 
tant lands.  Holland^  the  home  of  Calvinism,  and 
the  asylum  of  the  Puritans,  was  not  long  since  the 
land  where  50,000  perished  on  the  scaffold  for 
conscience'  sake  under  a  single  reign.  Switzerland^ 
the  birth-place  of  Zuinglius,  Bullinger,  and  Beza, 
and  from  the  bosom  of  whose  placid  lake  the  re- 
nowned Calvin  sent  forth  a  voice  that  now  speaks 
in  every  well-instructed  and  well-organized  church 
in  the  Christian  world,  was  once  at  the  feet  of  im- 
perial Rome,  and  overrun  and  almost  extirpated 
by  hordes  of  barbarians.  Prussia^  the  land  of 
Copernicus  and  the  great  Frederic,  and  whence  Ber- 
lin, and  Halle,  and  Bonn  have  diffused  so  much  of 
the  learning  and  intelligence  of  Europe,  and  which 
has  been  the  honored  asylum  of  the  persecuted, 
and  than  which  no  country  on  the  Continent  is 
more  distinguished  for  its  schools,  its  toleration 
and  its  Christianity ;  as  late  as  the  13th  century 


200  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

was  tlie  dwelling  of  the  Vandal,  and  later  still  one 
of  tlie  arenas  of  that  fearful  conflict  between  the 
Catholics  and  the  Protestants,  known  as  the  "  thirty 
years'  war."  Hungary  was  once  the  hospitable 
region  where  reposed  the  innumerable  hordes 
which  overran  the  Roman  Empire:  it  was  the 
asylum  of  the  Tartar ;  nov/,  down-trodden  as  it  is, 
it  gives  toleration  and  security  to  two  millions  of 
Protestants,  and  seventy-five  thousand  Jews.  It 
is  scarcely  two  centuries  since  Ilussia  was  known 
as  an  Empire ;  now  she  holds  the  balance  of  power 
in  Eurppe ;  and  though  her  religion  is  but  one  of 
the  corrupted  forms  of  Christianity,  the  Bible  is 
recognized  as  its  standard,  and  is  accessible  by  the 
people.  Of  Austria^  France^  and  the  Roman 
States^  we  can  say  nothing,  but  that  they  are  not 
Pagan,  and  that  the  witnesses  for  Christianity 
which  are  there,  are  there  to  suffer ;  and  it  may  be 
by  their  sufferings,  by  the  word  of  their  testimony, 
and  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  are  to  overcome. 

It  is  a  fact  of  deep  interest  in  the  divine  govern- 
ment also,  that  no  one  nation  now  on  the  earth  is 
so  powerful  as  to  dictate  and  give  laws  to  all  other 
nations.  It  was  not  always  thus.  The  Chaldean, 
the  Medo-Persian,  and  the  Mecedoniau  Emperors 
successively  ruled  the  earth.  The  Roman  Em- 
pire, still  subsisting  in  its  ten  broken  kingdoms, 
once  gave  law  to  the  world  ;  but  when  that  em- 
pire fell,  it  was  the  last  antichristian  power  that 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS  201 

should  sway  the  nations,  and  that  was  to  be  su- 
perseded by  the  "  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands." 

Nor  is  the  circumstance  to  be  overlooked,  that 
Infidelity  has  receiv^ed  a  blow  from  which  it 
will  scarcely  be  resuscitated.  The  great  question 
between  believers  and  unbelievers  in  the  Christian 
revelation  has  been  so  thoroughly  discussed,  and 
the  evidence  in  its  favor  is  so  cumulative,  that  no 
intelligent  infidel  has  for  a  long  series  of  years 
ventured  to  array  himself  against  the  authenticity 
and  inspiration  of  the  Sacred  Writings.  Where 
infidelity  has  not  retired  from  the  field,  it  has 
sought  a  refuge  in  scholastic  philosophy,  or  be- 
taken itself  to  some  corrupted  form  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  The  well-known  arena  of  its  tempo- 
rary triumph  has  been  so  fearfully  scathed  by 
the  divine  judgments,  that  its  noisy  pi-etensions 
have  been  silenced,  and  the  nations  look  upon  it 
with  horror.  It  always  has  been,  and  ever  will  be 
the  natural  result  of  minds  that  are  at  enmity 
with  God ;  but  so  long  as  the  scenes  of  the  French 
Revolution  are  fresh  in  the  remembrance  of  men, 
it  will  not  again  form  the  great  feature  of  national 
character.  Romanism  may  in  the  last  resort  do 
it  homage,  because  it  has  no  Bible  to  fall  back 
upon  when  its  own  resources  fail.  False  religions 
in  different  lands  may  do  it  homage,  because  with- 
out the  gospel,  it  is  their  only  asylum  in  their 


202  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

overthrow.  Islamism  will  not  honor  it ;  rather 
will  it  honor  the  Christianity  which  itself  honors 
the  "  One  God."  Despots  will  not  honor  it,  be- 
cause without  some  religion,  they  are  insecure 
upon  their  thrones.  Nor  will  the  people  honor 
it,  because  it  gives  them  blood  to  drink,  and  only 
blood. 

The  rapid  progress  which  Christianity  has 
made  in  the  world  during  the  last  half -century^  is 
also  among  the  brighter  signs  of  the  times. 
Wonderful  as  the  fact  may  appear,  the  Bible  is 
now  scattered  through  the  earth  in  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  languages.  Great  Britain  alone 
maintains  in  successful  operation /c>?//?'i!^f^i  Societies 
for  Foreign  Missions ;  Germany  seven  ;  the  United 
States  fourteen  ;  Holland  one  ;  Switzerland  one  ; 
France  (9716 ;  Sweden  ?;?,^c»;  Norway  072<?;  British 
America  one;  while  there  are  in  the  Christian 
world  not  less  than  twelve  flourishing  associations 
for  evangelizing  the  Jews.  Large  missionary 
stations,  with  all  the  appliances  of  schools,  Bibles 
and  religious  tracts  are  now  formed  in  Europe, 
Asia,  Africa,  America,  the  inland  seas,  and  the 
great  islands  of  the  Southei'n  Ocean.  Some  of 
these  stations  occupy  some  of  the  most  important 
positions  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  where  Chris- 
tianity has  entered  in  earnest  into  the  contest  with 
millions,  and  hundreds  of  millions ;  and  where  such 
have  been  its  successes  and  triumphs  that  it  is  "  dif- 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  203 

ficult  to  furnish  reapers  even  for  the  ripened  har- 
vest." In  some  of  these  fields  of  labor  the  ingath 
ering  has  been  of  the  most  encouraging  kind,  and 
equal  to  the  ingathering  of  the  churches  in  Chris- 
tian lands.  It  is  a  melancholy  truth  indeed,  that 
false  religions  in  every  form  still  exist,  and  that 
they  embrace  in  their  gigantic  arms  the  great 
mass  of  the  human  family ;  but  they  are  agitated 
by  internal  convulsions,  and  are  already  beginning 
to  be  conscious  of  their  own  weakness.  It  is  a 
remarkable  fact,  that  the  gospel  has  access  to  them 
all ;  that  among  tens  of  thousands  of  them  it  is 
doing  its  work ;  while  some  among  them  have  not 
only  publicly  cast  their  idols  to  the  moles  and  the 
bats,  but  have  enrolled  themselves  with  the  great 
brotherhood  of  Chiistian  nations,  and  have  be- 
come fellow-laborers  with  them  in  carrying  the 
gospel  to  other  lands. 

There  are  also  some  facts  of  a  different  kind  not 
to  be  overlooked  in  this  rajDid  survey.  The  autlior- 
itative  tendency  of  former  ages  in  controlling  the 
opinions  of  men  has  been  for  centuries,  and  still  is 
one  of  the  great  barriers  to  the  progress  of  the 
world  toward  the  days  of  millennial  glory.  That 
great  birthright  of  every  man,  the  right  of  private 
judgment  in  matters  of  religion,  was  long  in  being 
recognized  and  understood.  The  systems,  and 
claims,  and  organizations  of  priestcraft,  and  parlia- 
mentary and  legislative  enactments  which  had  for 


204  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

centuries  held  the  human  mind  in  their  iron  grasp, 
are  not  systems  "  on  which  consumption  feeds," 
nor  which  die  a  natural  death,  or  of  old  age.  The 
longer  they  live  unassailed  the  more  inveterate 
they  become,  and  the  stronger  their  dominion. 
Their  death-knell  was  indeed  sounded  when  Christ 
uttered  the  words,  "  If  the  Son  make  you  free,  ye 
shall  be  free  indeed."  It  was  a  deadly  Avound  that 
was  given  them  by  Luther,  and  Calvin,  and  Knox. 
The  great  statesmen  of  the  English  commonwealth 
contended  with  them ;  they  were  successfully  as- 
sailed by  Milton  and  Locke;  Oliver  Cromwell 
wielded  against  them  his  ponderous  sword;  Sir 
Harry  Vane  invaded  them  in  the  British  parlia- 
ment, and  nobly  breasted  himself  against  them  in 
the  infant  colony  at  Plymouth.  But  never  was 
the  triumph  actually  and  extensively  exemplified 
over  them  as  it  has  been  realized  in  this  land.  The 
influence  of  the  American  Republic  in  giving  sub- 
stance and  permanency  to  the  rights  of  conscience 
has  been  a  silent,  but  powerful  influence.  It  has 
not  been  by  the  intervention  of  her  cabinet,  or 
her  arms.  Her  moral  influence  is  her  power,  and 
her  example  is  not  only  now  felt  and  acknowledged 
by  transatlantic  states,  but  will  eventually  become 
the  law  of  Christendom.  It  is  no  small  advance 
in  the  state  of  the  world  toward  better  days, 
that  so  many  men  have  been  found,  like  Chalmers, 
and  Candlish,  and  Guthrie  and   Cunningham   in 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  205 

Scotland,  and  Vinet  in  the  Swiss  Cantons,  and  Eob- 
ert  Hall  and  Baptist  Noel  in  England,  wlio  have 
felt  so  deep  an  interest  in  establishing  the  intel- 
lectual and  religious  rights  of  men  upon  their  true 
and  proper  basis,  and  in  giving  Jesus  Christ  the 
sole  supremacy  in  his  own  house. 

The  great  cause  of  civil  liberty  too  has  been 
making  gradual  advances  duiing  the  last  fifty 
years.  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  with  all  his  destruc- 
tive ambition,  taught  the  nations  a  lesson  which 
they  cannot  easily  nnlearn.  The  despotisms  of 
Europe  and  even  of  Asia  are  not  what  they  once 
wei-e.  Who  does  not  see  that  the  policy  of  Great 
Britain  has  become  a  more  liberal  policy  ;  and  that 
in  all  these  gradual  modifications,  she  has  less  of 
favor  to  the  privileged  classes,  and  a  more  benevo- 
lent view  to  the  great  body  of  the  people?  The 
unexpected  and  untoward  events  which  have  re- 
cently taken  place  in  Europe,  and  which  would 
seem  to  indicate  an  alliance  that  is  fatal  both  to 
religious  and  civil  li])erty  may  not  throw  so  dark 
a  shadow  upon  the  future.  It  may  be  that  the 
nations  of  Europe  are  not  prepared  for  freedom, 
either  l)y  the  strength  of  their  i-eligious  principles 
or  moral  virtues.  Some  things  they  have  learned, 
which  they  will  hardly  fail  to  lay  up  for  future 
use.  They  have  seen  the  unstal)le  and  f  lithless 
character  of  their  own  governments.  Th(-y  have 
seen  the  superior  strength  of  the  people  wlienever 


206  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

they  came  in  actual  collision  with  despotic  power. 
They  have  seen  that  despots  are  conscious  of  their 
own  weakness,  because  they  have  been  forced  to 
take  I'efuge  in  foreign  aid ;  and  thus  experience 
has  taught  them  salutary  lessons  both  in  relation 
to  themselves  and  those  who  rule  over  them. 
Whether  the  more  immediate  I'esults  of  these  omi- 
nous overturnings  be  for  weal  or  for  woe,  we  have 
this  to  satisfy  us,  that  God  is  on  the  throne,  and 
that  the  darkest  events  are  but  evolutions  of  that 
complex  arrangement  wliich  he  himself  is  directing 
for  the  restoration  of  fallen  man  by  the  redemption 
of  his  Son.  "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world."  The  most  un- 
noticed flower  and  the  smallest  dew-drop  occupy 
the  place  assigned  to  them  by  his  unerring  wisdom. 
The  fiilling  of  a  sparrow  and  the  crushing  of  a 
worm  under  the  foot  of  man  as  truly  form  a  part 
of  his  all-comprehensive  purposes,  as  the  extinction 
of  an  empire,  or  the  overthrow  of  the  world  by  the 
flood.  "  He  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel 
of  his  own  will."  "  The  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth,  and  let  the  earth  rejoice !" 

Great  and  rapid  has  been  the  advancement  of 
Christianity  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  to  the  pre- 
sent hour.  It  may  not  be  observable  in  a  single 
century,  but  in  the  progress  of  centuries  it  is 
strongly  marked.  This,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
is  the  true  character  of  the  Millennium.     It  is  the 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  207 

progress  of  Christianity  to  its  culminating  point; 
retaining  still  all  the  characteristics  of  the  New- 
Dispensation  and  triumphant  in  the  earth.  The 
records  of  the  future  will,  no  doubt,  in  many  re- 
spects, still  be  like  the  records  of  the  past.  There 
was  a  variegated  and  misty  prospect  to  the  eye  of 
the  first  preachers  of  the  Christian  faith.  Like  a 
beautiful  landscape  that  rests  upon  a  deep  back- 
ground, Christianity  then  loomed  from  the  hazy 
atmosphere  of  forty  centuries.  The  age  that  pre- 
ceded it  was  the  iron  age  of  the  world  ;  an  age  of 
exclusiveness  and  bigotry,  of  bondage  and  suffer- 
ing, of  wars,  famine,  and  pestilence ;  an  age  fitted 
to  the  character  of  the  nations  that  successively 
occupied  it.  Nor  can  we  say  much  more  than  it 
looms  now,  if  not  from  the  same  hazy  atmosphere, 
and  the  same  deep  backgi'ound,  from  a  foreground 
that  is  still  overcast,  and  from  dark  recesses  where 
are  seen  gloomy  and  subterranean  caverns,  and 
many  a  rugged  mountain  and  fallen  tower.  We 
have,  it  is  true,  travelled  far  beyond  the  dark  ages : 
the  day  breaks  upon  us,  but  it  is  not  a  cloudless 
sky ;  "  the  morning  cometh  and  also  the  night." 
Whether  the  prophetic  symbol  of  the  drying  up 
of  the  river  Euphrates  denotes  the  exhaustion  and 
overthrow  of  the  Turkish  empire,  or  the  dowufal 
of  the  nationalized  hierarchies  of  Papal  Europe,  is 
not  essential  to  our  object.  One  thing  is  obvious, 
the  struggle  has  commenced  in  which  down  trod- 


208  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

den  nations  have  taken  the  field.  And  it  is  equally 
obvious  that  there  is  no  relenting  on  the  part  of 
their  oppressors.  This  confederacy  of  the  anti- 
christian  and  despotic  powers,  of  which  the  present 
generation  is  the  witness,  may  indicate  that  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  great  battle  for 
religious  principle  and  human  destiny  is  to  be 
fought;  and  when  blood  shall  flow  even  to  the 
horses'  bi'idles ;  and  when  the  prediction  shall  be 
fulfilled,  "Zion  shall  be  redeemed  with  judgment, 
and  her  converts  with  righteousness."  This  mar- 
shalling of  the  hosts  of  false  religions  is  but  the 
heaving  of  the  tempest,  the  collecting  of  the  mate- 
rials for  some  mighty  eruption.  The  promises  of 
God  to  his  church  are  but  threatenings  to  her  en- 
emies: "he  will  give  men  for  her  and  people  for 
her  life."  It  is  not  for  us  to  foresketch  the  steps 
of  divine  providence ;  but  is  it  not  obvious  that 
the  way  is  pi-eparing  for  a  change  in  the  affairs  of 
men  ;  that  the  ground  which  was  laid  in  the  plant- 
ing of  Christianit}^,  is  becoming  broader  from  year 
to  year ;  and  that  in  its  ascent  to  brighter  climes 
the  superstructure  will  defy  the  storm? 

Our  next  remark  relates  to  the  prospects  cmdtlie 
(^  duty  of  the  American  people  in  the  present  inter- 
esting period  of  the  loorld.  While  Avith  others,  we 
feel  that  as  a  nation  we  are  verging  towards  a  most 
important  crisis,  we  confess  ourselves  to  be  among 
those  who  have  more  hopes  than  fears.     It  is  but  a 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  209 

little  more  than  two  sliort  centuries  and  these  States 
were  the  abodes  of  pagan  and  savage  men.  Yet 
was  it  the  purpose  of  Him  who  giveth  this  earth 
to  whomsoever  he  will,  to  reclaim  this  vast  and 
rich  territory  from  the  desolations  of  past  ages ; 
to  put  it  under  a  Christian  culture,  and  make  it 
the  theatre  of  his  millennial  glory.  In  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  design,  it  has  been  well  said,  and  of- 
ten repeated,  that  he  "  sifted  three  nations  that  he 
might  sow  the  American  wilderness  with  the  finest 
of  the  wheat."  We  have  no  spirit  of  glorying  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  but  would  rather  invite  all 
to  adore  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  in 
bringing  to  these  shores  that  combination  of  races 
which  forms  the  excellence  of  the  American 
character.  The  English  and  the  Scottish  Puri- 
tans, the  generous  Hollanders,  the  Protestant 
Irish,  and  the  noble  Hugonots  of  France  consti- 
tute the  elements  of  our  national  greatness.  Never 
has  the  world  seen  four  nobler  races  of  men ;  races 
whose  combined  intelligence,  piety  and  thrift  were 
so  remarkably  fitted  by  divine  providence  to  con- 
vert these  western  forests  into  a  great  and  grow- 
ing empire.  The  design  of  heaven  in  thus  laying 
the  foundations  of  this  government,  was  a  far- 
reaching  and  benevolent  design,  and  we  still  re- 
gard it  as  of  bright  augury. 

There  have  been  interpositions  of  Providence 
also,  in  all  our  history,  which  show  that  the  eye 


210  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

of  God  has  been  upon  this  land  for  good,  and  not 
for  evil.  The  issue  of  the  bitter  conflict  with  the 
mother  country,  the  master-spirits  Avhich  directed 
it,  and  the  wisdom,  courage,  and  indomitaV)le  per- 
severance of  that  most  useful  and  most  illustrious 
man  of  the  age,  who  was  raised  up  as  its  honored 
chieftain,  w^ere  indications  that  it  w^as  the  purpose 
of  God  to  make  this  land  his  peculiar  cai-e.  What 
had  this  land  now  been,  had  this  revolution  been 
in  the  hands  of  wicked  men ! 

Many  a  time  since  that  period  also,  has  the 
wing  of  an  almighty  providence  sheltered  us ;  in 
days  of  peril,  the  God  of  our  fathers  has  not  for- 
saken their  postei'ity  ;  while  amid  those  very  crises 
in  which  we  stood  upon  the  brink  of  civil  war, 
his  voice  has  more  than  once  been  heard  stilling 
the  tumult  of  the  people. 

It  is  a  fact  of  deep  interest,  too,  that  the  Amer- 
ican people  have  never  been  a  persecuting  people. 
They  seem,  from  this  single  circumstance,  to  be 
secure  against  those  judgments  which  are  threat- 
ened asfainst  the  nations  who  shall  drink  blood 
because  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  the  saints. 
The  Jews,  pei'secuted  everywhere  else,  have  never 
been  persecuted  in  this  land ;  nor  can  the  threat- 
enings  against  those  who  have  ti'odden  down  the 
Hebrew  race,  ever  fall  upon  us,  either  as  an  ec- 
clesiastical, or  political  community.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful feature  in  our  history,  that  the  God  of  nations 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  211 

has  taken  this  land  out  from  the  limits  of  that 
great  persecuting  power,  the  old  Roman  empire, 
and  constituted  it  the  asylum  for  the  persecuted  of 
all  lands. 

We  put  these  fsicts  together,  and  Ave  carry  them 
as  a  toi'ch-light  into  the  labyrinths  of  the  present 
and  the  future.  We  have  taken  a  glance  at  the 
Old  World  ;  and  while  the  events  we  have  hinted 
at  wei-e  taking  place  there,  what  is  it  that  was  in 
progress  in  the  New  ?  Why  "  a  little  one  was  be- 
coming a  thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  na- 
tion :"  so  that  now  these  Christian  States  are  not 
only  planted  in  the  veiy  midst  of  Papal  supersti- 
tion, and  there  carrying  the  liberties  and  institu- 
tions of  Protestant  Christianity,  but  spreading 
themselves  out  on  mountains  of  gold,  and  almost 
within  hailing  distance  of  the  whole  Oriental 
World.  The  character  of  our  incieased  popula- 
tion has  indeed  greatly  changed  ;  but  with  all  its 
heterogeneous  elements,  it  is  thrown  into  the  same 
alembic,  and  its  noxious  gases  are  passing  off. 
That  great  medium  of  Christian  thought,  the  most 
potent  engine  of  reform  now  in  the  known  world, 
tlie  English  language^  is  gradually  reducing  these 
thirty  millions  to  a  uniform  character.  For  the 
first  time  since  the  foundation  of  the  Hebrew 
Commonwealth,  tlie  problem  is  being  solved  on  a 
lai-ge  scale,  whether  it  is  practicable  and  safe  to 
elevate  the   great  mass  of  the   population.     As 


212  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  world  is  constituted,  it  was  a  hazardous  exper- 
iment; but  it  is  one  that  was  called  for  by  the 
spirit  of  the  Bible,  by  the  intellectual,  moral,  and 
immoi'tal  nature  of  man,  and  by  those  unequivocal 
indications  of  Divine  providence  which  planted 
this  vine  in  the  wilderness  "  wholly  a  right  seed." 
Give  the  people  religion^  and  it  is  always  safe  to 
elevate  them.  European  statesmen  did  indeed 
regard  the  experiment  with  apprehension ;  Rome 
regarded  it  with  inveterate  hate ;  but  the  found- 
ers of  this  great  human  charity  believed  that  it 
was  the  work  of  God,  and  could  not  be  over- 
thrown. And  what  is  the  consequence?  It  is 
that  the  land  in  which  we  dwell,  which  has  been 
the  scorn  of  older  nations,  the  jest  of  the  men  in 
power,  and  the  ribaldry  of  their  scholars,  has  be- 
come the  pride  of  all  lands,  teaching  them  lessons 
of  liberty  and  law,  gradually  supplanting  their 
commerce  and  manufactures,  claiming  their  respect 
for  its  talent  and  literature,  welcoming  their  sur- 
plus population  by  millions,  and  co-operating  with 
the  virtuous  and  good  of  all  lands  in  evangelizing 
the  race.  Our  fields  are  cultivated,  our  public 
works  are  wrought,  our  manufactories  and  oui 
families  are  served  by  European  operatives,  while 
their  children  are  taught  in  our  schools,  and  them 
selves  are  insensibly  imbibing  our  principles.  We 
have  given  to  their  starving  population  the  bread 
of  our  granaries ;  while,  strange  to  say,  up  to  the 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  213 

present  liour,  in  tlieir  spiritual  destitution  tliey  do 
not  hesitate  to  make  their  appeal  to  these  western 
churches  for  the  bread  of  life. 

But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  in 
the  history  of  this  land,  that  while  trouble  and 
perplexity  for  a  long  series  of  years  have  been  the 
portion  of  the  older  nations,  ^ure  and  undejiled 
veligion  has  taken  deep  root  in  the  minds  and 
habits  of  the  American  people.  We  do  not 
mean  by  this  remark,  to  commend  the  piety  of 
this  land  above  that  of  other  lands;  nor  is  it 
made  from  the  spirit  of  self-complacency,  and  self- 
glorying.  We  could  write  a  chapter  upon  the  de- 
fects of  the  American  character,  which  would  be 
sufficiently  humbling  to  gratify  even  the  unreason- 
able hostility  to  our  institutions  which  exists  on 
the  other  side  of  the  water.  But  we  may  not 
overlook  the  purposes  of  Divine  providence  tow- 
ard us,  nor  be  slow  of  heart  to  recognize  the  mu- 
nificence of  his  grace.  I  refer  to  the  fact,  that 
amid  the  agitations  of  Europe,  churches  were  be- 
ing formed  in  this  land,  and  springing  up  on  every 
side,  plenteously  watered  hy  the  deiv  of  heaven.  Just 
at  the  time  when  our  fathers,  educated  and  dis- 
ciplined as  they  had  been  by  trials  and  by  truth 
from  their  very  landing  on  Plymouth  rock  for  the 
liberties  they  subsequently  enjoyed,  were  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  the  struggle  which  issued  in  our 
national  independence ;  God  was  prej^aring  us  for 


214  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  place  we  were  destined  to  occupy  among  tlie 
nations,  by  those  spiritual  influences  which  form 
so  luminous  an  era  in  our  colonial  history.  And 
when  this  young  Kepublic  had  taken  that  place, 
and  had  survived  the  corrupting  influences  of  war, 
and  the  experiment  was  being  upon  a  large  scale, 
whether  the  church  of  God  could  prosjDer  inde- 
pendently of  state-patronage  ;  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  again  poured  out  upon  us,  and  the  land  was 
visited  with  successive  and  long-continued  refresh- 
ings from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Nor  is  it  too 
much  to  say,  that  these  wonders  of  a  wonder- 
working God  commenced  a  new  order  of  things 
among  the  American  people.  Although  unob- 
served by  statesmen,  they  gave  sacredness  and 
permanency  to  our  institutions  ;  elevated  and 
sanctified  our  colleges ;  raised  up  an  cfi:ective 
Christian  ministry ;  gave  prominence  to  the  Amer- 
ican church,  and  moved  other  lands.  There  are 
no  periods  of  oui-  history  so  bright  as  those  which 
have  been  thus  distinguished.  They  were  days 
of  vengeance  to  God's  enemies ;  but  they  were 
years  of  recompense  for  the  controversies  of  Zion. 
Blood  was  flowing  in  torrents  in  Europe  and  the 
West  Indies  ;  kings  were  tottering  on  their 
thrones  ;  cabinets  were  perplexed  by  divided  and 
stormy  councils ;  but  the  branch  of  peace  was 
waving  over  the  church  of  God  in  the  New  World. 
Nor,  much  as  we  have  reason  to  lament  subse- 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  215 

quent  seasons  of  spiritual  drought  and  declension, 
have  these  seasons  of  mercy  come  to  an  end.  Up 
to  the  present  hour,  "Israel  hath  not  been  for- 
saken, nor  Judah  of  his  God,  of  the  Lord  of  hosts : 
thouo-h  their  land  was  filled  with  sin  acfainst  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel."  This  series  of  revivak  has 
never  been  so  interrupted  as  to  leave  a  chasm  ;  nor 
have  the  heavens  over  our  head  ever  been  so  much 
like  bi'ass  ;  but  that  from  the  top  of  Carmel  some 
little  cloud  of  mercy  might  be  seen  arising  out 
of  the  sea  like  a  man's  hand.  We  have  other 
grounds  of  hope,  but  these  are  the  strong  pillars 
of  our  confidence. 

In  regard  to  our  duty  as  a  nation,  there  can  be 
no  difference  of  opinion,  unless  it  be  as  to  the 
means  and  measures  by  which  the  great  ends  of 
our  national  existence  should  be  pursued.  It  is 
needless  to  urge  the  necessity  of  sound  religious 
principle,  and  thorough  morality  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  institutions,  and  the  continued  favor 
of  the  God  of  nations  upon  our  land.  Nor  is  it 
necessary  to  say,  that  it  is  essential  to  our  pros- 
perity that  he  should  give  us  upright  and  Chris- 
tian rulers,  and  men  who  are  more  sensitive  to 
the  weighty  responsibilities  of  office,  than  to  its 
emoluments,  or  honors.  We  wave  remark  even 
upon  these  important  topics,  because  we  have  often 
given  utterance  to  these  views.  Nor  have  we  time 
now  to  say  more  upon  other  topics,  than  that  we 


216  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

live  in  an  age  of  great  excitement,  and  greater  ex- 
citability ;  nor  are  there  any  principles  which  can 
so  fitly  govern  us  as  those  of  a  conservative  policy. 
We  may  be  the  opposers  of  infidelity  and  all  false 
religions,  without  the  spirit  either  of  persecution, 
or  of  bigotry.  "We  may  be  the  enemies  of  tyranny, 
both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  without  active  inter- 
vention in  the  authority  of  tyrants.  We  may  be 
the  friends  of  law,  without  aiming  to  make  human 
laws  do  the  work  of  the  gospel,  or  endeavoring  to 
introduce  the  Millennium  by  human  legislation. 
We  may  combine  in  the  promotion  of  every  char- 
ity, without  allowing  human  combinations  to  take 
the  place  of  the  church  of  God,  or  to  neutralize 
her  influence.  We  may  be  the  friends  of  freedom, 
without  interfering  with  the  constitutional  rights 
of  our  neighbors.  We  may  be  looking  out  for  the 
Millennium,  and  fervently  praying  for  the  down- 
fal  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and  the  general 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  expecting  to 
see  the  Son  of  Man  reign  on  a  temporal  throne  in 
Jerusalem,  or  specifying  the  date  of  his  advent. 
And  "last,  but  not  least,"  we  may  be  the  friends 
of  the  heathen  without  overlooking  the  spiritual 
wants  of  our  own  land.  This  land  of  the  West  is 
the  first  and  great  charge  of  the  American  people. 
To  perform  the  part  allotted  to  her  in  preparing 
the  way  for  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  she 
must  remain  a  Christian  land ;  and  to  remain  a 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  217 

Cliristian  laud,  slie  must  make  rapid  aud  effective 
aggressious  upon  the  empire  of  darkness  within 
her  own  borders.  She  must  have  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  and  they  must  be  supported.  She  must 
have  churches,  and  congregations  to  occupy  them. 
She  must  have  Christian  families  and  Christian 
schools,  or  the  j^eople  will  perish  for  lack  of 
knowledge.  It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  give  these 
plain  thoughts  too  great  prominence.  The  field 
which  God  has  obviously  allotted  to  the  American 
churches  is  this  broad  land.  Already  on  the  shores 
of  our  own  Pacific  Ocean  the  providence  of  God  is 
planting  colonies  from  the  oriental,  pagan  nations, 
to  learn  the  value  of  our  institutions  and  our  re- 
ligion, and  to  go  back  the  missionaries  of  the  cross, 
or  send  back  the  glad  tidings  of  the  great  salva- 
tion. Would  we  operate  on  all  nations ;  we  have 
them  in  our  own  land  and  at  our  own  doors.  If 
we  would  most  effectively  promote  the  cause  of 
Christ,  au(^  the  salvation  of  our  fellow-men,  and 
hasten  the  millennial  glory  of  our  Divine  Master, 
this  land  is  the  proper  sphere  for  our  greatest  ex- 
ertions. 

We  may  not  extend  these  remarks.  Yet  before 
we  bring  the  subject  to  a  conclusion,  we  may  not 
suppress  this  last  observation,  that  as  the  creatures 
of  God  we  are  under  great  obligations  to  Mm  for 
the  period  of  the  tvorld  in  ivhich  tve  have  heen  per- 
'initted  to  live.    The  years  within  the  remembrance 

VOL.  11.  '  10 


218  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

of  not  a  few  among-  tlie  living  have  been  years  of 
deep  interest  to  individual  man,  and  to  every  form 
of  social  organization.  Ev^ents  have  taken  place 
within  a  shoi-ter  period  than  half  a  century  which 
some  future  historian  will  celebrate  as  among  the 
brighter  ages  of  time.  It  has  been  a  period  rich 
in  results,  and  one  that  adorns  the  last  dispensa- 
tion of  the  divine  government  over  this  fallen 
world.  That  man  must  be  an  atheist  who  does 
not  perceive  that  events  have  taken  place  in  such 
sequence  and  dependencies  as  to  baffle  the  councils 
of  the  wise,  confound  the  wisdom  of  the  prudent, 
and  even  take  the  most  enlightened,  the  most  ex- 
pectant, and  the  most  believing  by  surprise.  They 
have  been  clustering  and  crowded  upon  one  an- 
other so  densely,  as  not  only  to  give  substance  and 
continuity  to  the  series,  but  to  furnish  striking 
proof  of  his  supremacy,  who  "stretched  abroad 
the  heavens  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth 
that  he  might  say  unto  Zion,  thy  God  reigneth  !" 
Some  of  us  were  born  to  behold  the  whole  of 
this  wonderful,  splendid  era.  Not  many  such  se- 
ries of  events  as  those  which  have  occuri-ed  within 
the  last  half-century  are  necessary  in  ordei-  to  fill 
the  earth  with  the  knowledge  of  God.  The  fifty 
years  to  come  will  indeed  be  a  momentous  period. 
The  child  that  is  now  in  its  cradle  will  see  greater 
things  than  ever  prophets  saw  but  in  vision.  Nor 
will  they  be  long  in  coming;  nor  stand  alone  ;  nor 


PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS.  219 

will  their  influence  be  isolated.  They  will  be  fitted 
to  one  another  and  to  the  crisis  they  produce ;  and 
when  the  crisis  comes  they  will  rush  to  their  glo- 
rious issues.  This  agitation  among  the  nations, 
and  the  sweeping  judgments  that  are  now  passing 
over  portions  of  the  earth,  so  far  from  obscuring 
the  prospect,  are  just  the  events  which  God  and 
his  people  are  looking  for.  It  will  be  in  vain 
for  us  to  expect  that  the  course  of  divine  prov- 
idence will  be  tranquil  and  unobserved ;  rather 
will  it  be  broken  by  rocks  and  ruffled  by  storms. 
There  will  doubtless  be  seasons  of  desolating  ca- 
lamity. The  stream  will  be  swollen  by  the  moun- 
tain torrent ;  and  as  it  dashes  on  and  mingles  with 
the  ocean,  "  the  deep  will  utter  his  voice  and  lift 
up  his  hands  on  high."  Yet  is  there  no  depression 
in  these  anticipations.  Notwithstanding  the  damp 
and  murky  atmosphere  with  which  we  are  some- 
times enveloped,  there  is  a  feeling  in  it  that  revives 
us ;  a  fragrance  coming  up  from  the  blooming 
earth  which  is  the  precursor  of  the  new-born  year. 
Favored,  highly  favored  is  that  generation  which 
is  destined  to  occupy  these  coming  years!  We 
may  not  say  that  we  have  no  latent  wish  to  put 
back  the  shadow  on  the  dial,  and  enter  with 
younger  men  and  youthful  ardor  upon  this  opening 
period  of  time.  We  are  thankful  for  the  past,  and 
congratulate  those  to  whom  the  future  furnishes 
so  cheering  a  prospect.     The  trump  of  jubilee  is 


220  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

even  now  sounding  from  the  lands  to  which  Chris- 
tianity was  transplanted,  to  lands  where  she  was 
born.  Its  tidings  come  from  yonder  "sea-girt 
isle,"  and  are  echoed  far  and  wide  from  these 
mountains  of  the  West.  Long  may  a  wakeful 
providence  throw  its  guardianship  around  these 
lands,  and  bid  them  "  declare  his  glory  among  the 
Gentiles !" 

And  thou,  my  country !  The  burying-place  of 
my  fathers  and  my  children,  be  not  thou  unmind- 
ful of  thy  birthright,  nor  profanely  barter  it  for  a 
mess  of  pottage  !  Hail,  ye  blood-bought  churches ! 
whether  planted  on  the  sea-beaten  cliif,  or  the  ver- 
dant plain  !  Hail,  ye  her  consecrated  ministers ! 
her  colleges,  her  schools  of  the  prophets!  her 
Christian  statesmen !  destined  to  fulfil  such  won- 
drous councils  of  love  more  wondrous !  Hail,  ye 
her  increasing  millions !  who  stand  in  full  view  of 
this  coming  age  of  millennial  glory  !  And  thou, 
this  poor,  lost,  but  redeemed  earth,  all  hail !  under 
whose  opening  heavens  the  Son  of  Man  is  to  de- 
scend, proclaim  his  triumphs,  and  receive  his 
reward ! 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

THE   GLOEY   OF   CHRIST   AS   THE   FINAL   JUDGE. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  object  of  the  present 
chapter,  to  delineate  the  scenes  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, as  to  speak  of  the  glory  of  Christ  as  the 
Final  Judge.  The  present  world  is  not  the  theatre 
of  equitable  rewards  and  punishments  ;  nor  can  it 
be  unless  governed  by  a  perpetual  series  of  mira- 
cles. Either  there  is  no  administration  of  justice 
in  the  universe ;  or  God  is  unjust ;  or  there  is  a 
judgment  to  come.  Law  implies  responsibility  to 
the  Lawgiver.  It  were  more  reasonable  to  deny 
moral  government,  than  to  deny  that  man  is  the 
creature  of  account.  It  was  not  necessary  for  the 
world  to  be  furnished  with  a  supernatural  revela- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  revealing  this  truth  ;  this 
truth  itself  is  the  ground-work  of  revelation.  It 
is  an  ultimate  fact.  Men  feel  confident  of  it ;  the 
foundation  of  it  is  laid  deep  in  the  constitution  of 
the  human  mind.  They  need  a  revelation  from 
heaven  not  so  much  to  assure  them  of  their  respon- 
sibility, as  to  define  it ;  to  inform  them  what  is  its 


222  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

standard  ;  and  when,  and  where,  and  how  they 
will  1)6  called  to  account,  and  what  will  be  the 
final  results. 

For  fall  information  concerning  a  future  judg- 
ment, therefore,  we  must  go  to  the  Bible.  Here 
the  light  is  strong  and  refulgent.  Here  we  learn, 
th.it  "  God  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  which  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness ;  that  "  we  all 
shall  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ;" 
thait  "  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and 
after  that  the  judgment ;"  and  that  "the  small  and 
great  shall  stand  before  God,  and  all  be  judged 
according  to  their  works."  It  will  be  a  day  of 
deep  interest  to  him  who  made  and  governs  the 
world,  as  well  as  to  its  nnnumbered  inhabitants. 
The  Scrij-)tures  speak  of  it  as  the  "  Great  Day,"  and 
as  the  "Day  of  the  revelation  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God."  It  must  be  a  great  and  glo- 
rious day.  But  why  will  it  be  a  day  of  such  im- 
portance to  Jesus  Christy  and  what  is  there  in  the 
divine  arrangements  concerning  it  which  Avill  then 
render  Him  so  ineffably  glorious  ?  The  following 
thoughts  may  deserve  some  consideration,  as  a 
pai-tial  answer  to  this  inquiry. 

In  the  first  })lace,  the  time  lolien  the  final  jndg- 
meut  will  take  iilace,  is  determined  loitli  a  view  to 
his  worh  as  the  acknowledged  Redeemer.  In  the 
days  of  the  apostles,  there  were  those  who  taught 
that  the  "  resurrection  is  past  already,"  and  others 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.       223 

who  tauglit  that  it  was  nigli  at  hand.  In  subse- 
quent ages,  prediction  upon  prediction  has  foretold 
the  period  ;  and  in  our  own  day  there  have  not 
been  wanting  those  who  have  fixed  the  date  of 
this  appearing  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  who  have 
driven  thousands  to  the  frantic  apprehensions,  or 
the  disappointed  expectations  of  his  coming.  Not 
a  few  who  discountenance  the  idea  of  his  premillen- 
nial  reign,  still  believe  that  what  they  consider  the 
day  of  judgment,  is  an  event  which  may  come  in 
ten  years,  or  in  one,  at  any  hour  or  at  any  mo- 
ment. That  such  views  are  without  any  founda- 
tion, is  sufficiently  obvious  from  the  pi'esent  state 
of  the  world,  and  from  so  many  unfulfilled  pre- 
dictions which  must  occupy  a  longer  period  in 
the  fulfilment  than  such  views  contemplate.  The 
Millennium  itself  will  occupy  at  least  a  thousand 
years.  There  are  affecting  events  also  Avhich  the 
Scriptures  inform  us  are  to  take  place  between  the 
Millennium  and  the  end  of  the  world,  which  ne- 
cessarily put  the  final  judgment  at  a  distance  from 
the  close  of  the  Millennium. 

The  time  is  fixed  by  God,  and  remains  a  pro- 
found secret  to  all  the  rest  of  the  universe.  How 
long  after  the  Millennium  it  will  arri\e,  we  may 
not  conjecture.  All  that  is  revealed  to  us  is,  that, 
at  the  close  of  the  thousand  years,  Satan  will  be 
let  loose  from  his  chains  foi-  "  a  little  season." 
From  "  the  remnant"  of  wicked  men  who  i-emain 


224  THE  GLORY  OP  CHRIST. 

unsubdued  by  the  gospel  during  that  long-con- 
tinned  period  of  holiness,  a  generation  will  arise 
who  will  body  forth  afresh  the  spirit  of  the 
Beast  and  the  False  Prophet,  and  in  whom  there 
will  be  an  inglorious  resuscitation  of  antichristian 
principles  and  influence,  a  fearful  apostasy,  an  in- 
fatuated and  presumptuous  warfare  against  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High.  "  Satan  shall  be  loosed 
out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the 
nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth, 
to  gather  them  together  to  battle;  the  number 
of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea."  As  this  will 
be  the  last,  so  it  will  probably  be  a  most  desperate 
conflict,  and  form  a  most  interesting  period  in  the 
history  of  time.  Prostrate  nations  will  contend 
against  the  church,  besiege  the  beloved  city,  and 
become  so  merciless,  that  the  only  hope  of  the 
saints  will  be  in  that  miracle  of  deliverance  in 
which  "  fire  comes  down  from  God  out  of  heaven 
and  devours  their  enemies."  This  event  will  be 
the  proximate  precursor  of  the  consummation  of 
all  things.  It  was  immediately  after  this,  that 
the  prophet  affirms,  "  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small 
and  great,  stand  before  God."  The  time  had  come 
for  the  Last  Judgment ;  the  time  fixed  in  the  pur- 
pose of  God ;  the  time  to  which  all  preceding 
ages  had  looked  forward.  It  will  not  come  when 
men  are  looking  and  preparing  for  it ;  it  Avill  take 
them  by  surprise,  when  they  least  expect  it,  and 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        225 

are  least  preparing  for  it.  It  will  come  suddenly, 
and  as  "  a  thief  in  the  night."  Kings  will  be  in 
the  pride  of  their  thronely  power  ;  armies  will  be 
marshalled  on  the  battle-field ;  senates  will  be  in 
the  midst  of  their  deliberations,  orators  of  their 
triumph,  banqueting  halls  of  their  festivity,  bridal 
circles  of  their  hopes  and  joy,  and  the  thief  and 
the  murderer  in  the  hot  career  of  crime.  The 
frantic  world  will  be  shouting  its  triumphs  over  a 
down-trodden,  desponding  church  ;  when  suddenly, 
and  at  some  unlooked-foi-  signal  all  faces  shall 
gather  blackness  at  the  sight  of  the  "  Son  of  Man 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.'' 

Nothing  shall  hasten  his  coming  before  the  ap- 
pointed time.  The  living  saints  may  be  impatient 
for  his  appearing,  but  until  then  he  shall  not  ap- 
pear. The  spirits  of  the  martyrs  may  have  been 
for  ages  uttering  the  cry,  "How  long,  O  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  avenge  our  blood  on 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth;"  but  bitter  and 
affecting  as  the  cry  has  been,  he  would  still  give 
the  world  every  opportunity  of  repentance.  Nor 
would  draw  the  curtain  upon  its  last  hope,  until  the 
bright  period  of  millennial  glory  is  past,  nor  until 
the  "  remnant"  have  so  unequivocally  manifested 
their  wickedness,  that  the  safety  of  his  cause,  and 
his  own  glory  demand  that  the  end  should  come. 
Nothing  in  the  universe  can  then  induce  him  to 
any  further  delay.     Many  a  time  has  the  scoffing 

10* 


226  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

infidel  given  utterance  to  the  blasphemous  demand, 
"  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming ;"  many  a 
time  has  Greek  and  Jew  derided  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection  and  the  judgment;  and  with  them, 
many  a  time  have  those  who  have  had  their  dwell- 
ing in  God's  sanctuaries  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  these 
solemn  premonitions,  and  laughed  at  the  thought 
of  that  everlasting  retribution.  Now  men  will  no 
longer  shut  their  eyes  to  the  light ;  profligate  infi- 
delity will  no  longer  question  his  coming ;  the  day 
of  scornful  defiance  will  be  at  an  end ;  and  for  the 
first  time  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  ridicule, 
and  reproach,  and  a  lying  tongue  will  honor  the 
forbearance  and  the  truth  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  great  purpose  of  his  redemption,  that  pur- 
pose which  lies  near  his  heart,  will  then  be  con- 
summated ;  and  providence  will  seal  up  its  great 
Statute  Book,  and  this  material  creation  will  be 
arrested  in  its  course.  When  his  design  is  com- 
pleted, theirs  will  be  completed ;  when  his  work 
is  done,  theirs  will  be  done.  Events  shall  not 
crowd  so  fast,  nor  time  fly  so  swiftly,  as  to  prevent 
him  from  finishing  his  great  work.  If  there  is  a 
remote  tribe,  or  forgotten  island  of  the  sea  to 
whom  his  gospel  has  not  proclaimed  its  glad  tid- 
ings ;  or  if  there  is  a  benighted  son  or  daughter 
of  Adam  whom  he  foresees  will  accept  the  salva- 
tion by  putting  oflf  this  final  consummation ;  the 
day  of  reckoning  shall  not  come  until  that  forgot- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.       227 

ten  tribe  is  thouglit  of,  and  that  wandering  sheep 
gathered  into  his  fold.  The  day  would  have  been 
past  and  gone,  and  we  all  should  long  since  have 
entered  upon  an  unalterable  and  eternal  destiny, 
had  not  his  great  work  of  redemption  been  still 
going  on.  If  there  were  not  hereafter  to  be  an- 
other sinner  brought  to  the  saving  knowledge  of 
Christ;  the  mystery  of  God  would  noiv  be  finished, 
and  ere  yonder  sun  has  time  to  cross  his  meridian, 
the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God 
would  sound.  God  has  committed  all  things  into 
the  hands  of  Christ  as  the  appointed  Mediator.  It 
is  signal  glory  to  him  that  he  has  preserved  the 
seasons  in  their  revolutions;  has  kept  the  lights 
of  heaven  in  their  orbits,  the  ocean  in  its  bed, 
and  held  the  elements  in  his  fists ;  that  men  and 
nations  have  been  under  his  control,  and  all  over- 
ruled and  governed  not  only  with  a  view  to  the 
disclosures  and  decisions  of  this  Last  Day,  but  to 
the  most  fitting  time  when  they  shall  be  made.  It 
will  be  known  then  why  this  world  has  stood  so 
long,  and  why  it  shall  stand  no  longer ;  why  the 
Day  of  Judgment  arrived  no  sooner,  and  why 
so  soon.  Nor  amid  these  wondrous  disclosures 
will  anything  be  more  wondrous  than  his  charac- 
ter who  is  the  great  Mediator,  his  glory  who  is 
God  over  all,  blessed  forever. 

We  remark,  in  the  next  place,  it  will  be  an  em- 
phatic expression  of  the  glory  of  Christ,  that  he 


228  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

himself  will  he  the  Judge.  After  he  rose  from  tlie 
dead,  lie  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Allpo^ver  is  given 
to  rae  in  heaven  and  on  earth."  God  has  given 
to  hirn  this  authority;  and  the  time  is  coming 
when  it  shall  be  acknowledged  from  one  extremity 
of  the  earth  to  the  other.  His  cross  is  the  conse- 
crated symbol  of  empire.  By  solemn  charter,  writ- 
ten with  the  finger  of  God,  and  sealed  with  the 
blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  he  is  "head 
over  all  things  to  his  church."  Nor  will  he  surren- 
der this  authority  until  the  close  of  the  Final  Judg- 
ment. He  will  sit  as  King  upon  the  throne  at  the 
Last  Day ;  and  the  last  regal  act  of  the  God-Man 
shall  be  the  process  and  decisions  of  that  day. 

There  is  wisdom  and  equity  in  this  arrangement. 
It  is  altoi^ether  fittino^  that  Christ  should  be  the 
Judge,  because  he  is  the  So7i  of  God.  It  is  his 
prerogative  whose  is  the  kingdom,  and  who  is  ex- 
alted as  Head  above  all,  to  give  law  to  the  universe 
and  become  its  Judge.  His  real  and  essential  Di- 
vinity qualifies  him  for  this  high  office.  He  could 
not  have  arranged  the  government  of  the  universe 
with  a  view  to  the  judgment ;  nor  could  he  conduct 
the  process  of  the  Day  itself,  unless  he  were  truly 
and  essentially  God.  He  could  not  raise  the  dead; 
nor  call  angels  and  men  before  his  bar ;  nor  open 
the  books  of  providence  and  search  the  heart ;  nor 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness  ;  if  he  were  not 
possessed  of  every  divine  perfection. 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        229 

The  Scriptures  instruct  us  also  that  there  is  a 
peculiar  fitness  in  his  being  the  Judge,  because  he 
is  the  Son  of  If  an.  "  The  Father  judgeth  no  man, 
but  has  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son." 
This  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment. It  is  a  beautiful  arrangement,  that  the 
judge  of  men  should  sustain  this  intimate  relation 
to  the  nature  of  those  whom  he  calls  before  his 
bar.  It  is  but  carrying  out  the  thought,  that  "  as 
the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he 
also  took  part  in  the  same  !"  They  are  the  breth- 
ren of  his  own  family,  the  descendants  of  the  same 
primeval  parent,  whom  he  thus  summons  before 
him.  As  by  one  man  came  sin  and  death,  so  has 
redemption  come;  and  so  shall  the  final  judgment 
come  by  One,  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  in  his  character,  therefore,  as  God  and  nian^ 
the  great  Mediator  and  Redeeyner^  that  he  will 
judge  the  world.  The  work  of  redemption  began 
in  his  incarnation ;  it  was  advanced  by  his  life,  his 
miracles,  and  his  preaching;  it  was  perfected  by 
his  death ;  and  there  is  a  strong  propriety  in  his 
still  unfolding  it,  and  making  its  grandest  develop- 
ments, and  bringing  it  to  its  final  issues  on  the 
Great  and  Last  Day.  It  was  for  this  that  he  rose 
from  the  dead,  thus  incontestably  establishing  his 
claims  to  be  the  Judge  of  men  at  his  "  appearing 
and  in  his  kingdom."  When  the  Lord  of  all  thus 
stooped  to  the  form  of  a  servant ;  when  the  eternal 


230  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Lawgiver  consented  to  become  a  subject ;  when  lie 
who  was  rich,  and  honored,  and  blessed  for  ever- 
more, came  to  a  world  in  which  he  had  not  where 
to  lay  his  head,  and  hid  not  his  face  from  shame 
and  spitting,  and  sunk  on  the  malefactor's  cross ; 
it  was  in  view  of  this  exaltation  as  the  recognized 
and  adored  Judge  of  angels  and  men.  "  That  at 
the  name  of  Jesus,  every  knee  should  bow,  of 
things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth ;  and  that  every  tongue  should 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father."  He  is  the  last  being  in  the  uni- 
verse who  will  allow  any  injustice  to  be  done  to 
the  Deity.  Exhibiting  as  he  does  the  transcendent 
glory  of  the  Godhead,  he  will  sit  upon  his  throne 
as  the  selected  and  impartial  vindicator  of  all  its 
rights  and  claims,  himself  endorsing  them  all,  and 
pledging  his  own  rectitude  not  merely  to  save 
them  harmless,  but  to  crown  them  and  their  Au- 
thor with  glory  and  honor.  He  is  also  the  last 
Being  in  the  universe  who  will  allow  any  injustice 
to  be  done  to  man.  Identifying  himself  with  hu- 
manity, and  linking  with  it  his  own  fortunes  and 
honor,  he  occupies  the  throne  as  their  Friend  and 
Advocate ;  furnished  with  every  plea  on  their  be- 
half, and  not  less  tender  in  his  compassions,  and 
not  less  touched  with  sympathy  for  them  than 
when  he  wept  over  Jerusalem.  From  the  com- 
mencement to  the  close  of  this  judicial  process, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        231 

every  kind  sentiment  of  his  bosom  is  enlisted  on 
man's  behalf.  The  most  depressed  of  all  his  fol- 
lowers, and  those  who,  in  the  present  world,  have 
been  so  burdened  and  crushed  by  a  sense  of  their 
wickedness,  that  many  a  time  they  have  thought 
they  should  not  dare  go  up  to  his  throne ;  when 
they  look  upon  his  face  so  radiant  with  love  and 
mercy,  shall  stand  with  confidence  before  him. 
And  even  the  despairing  sinner  may  have  this  con- 
solation, that  if  there  be  one  mitigating  circum- 
stance in  his  history,  it  will  not  be  overlooked 
nor  unappreciated.  Guilty  man  could  not  have  a 
more  friendly  Arbiter,  nor  God,  and  justice  one 
more  safe  and  true. 

Neither  the  Father,  nor  the  Spirit  could  so  fitly 
occupy  the  judicial  throne,  nor  throw  around  it 
such  brightness ;  nor  could  its  decisions  and  sen- 
tence come  from  any  lips  with  so  much  emphasis 
as  from  his.  Every  virtuous  mind  in  the  universe 
will  rejoice  wben  they  behold  the  Mediator  in  the 
Person  of  the  descending  Judge,  and  see  the  Suf- 
ferer of  Calvary  on  the  throne.  It  is  a  delicate, 
as  well  as  most  responsible  office  which  the  Son 
of  Man  then  executes.  If  it  is  the  glory  of  an 
earthly  judge  to  be  so  well  qualified  for  his  office, 
and  so  faithfully  to  have  discharged  its  duties 
amid  scenes  of  popular  tumult  and  furious  revolu- 
tion, as  to  secure  the  approbation  both  of  the 
government  and  the  people  ;  what  glory  will  rest 


232  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST, 

upon  the  Person,  and  encircle  the  Judgment  Seat 
of  the  great  Mediatorial  judiciary,  when  God, 
angels,  and  men  thus  support  his  throne  ! 

These  thoughts  will  receive  additional  impor- 
tance from  a  third  general  remark,  which  respects 
the  manner  in  ivhich  He  will  come  to  judgment. 
The  earth  we  inhabit  will  exhibit  an  unwonted 
appearance  toward  the  close  of  that  period  of 
time  which  immediately  precedes  the  General 
Judgment.  If  we  now  look  up  to  these  material 
heavens,  or  abroad  upon  the  terraqueous  globe,  we 
do  not  perceive  that  as  yet  they  indicate  any  mark 
of  decay.  The  sun  does  not  stagger  in  his  place, 
nor  throw  out  his  beams  less  brilliantly  ;  nor  does 
the  moon  walk  less  majestically  her  nightly  pil- 
grimage ;  nor  do  the  planetary  bodies  move  with 
less  energy  in  their  orbits,  or  exhibit  a  less  sub- 
lime and  attractive  scenery,  than  they  exhibited 
six  thousand  years  ago.  Nor  does  this  earth  on 
which  we  tread,  with  its  oceans  and  continents,  its 
lakes  and  rivers,  its  cities  and  villages,  its  cultiva- 
ted soil  and  its  uncultivated  wastes,  its  mountains 
and  its  plains,  and  its  ten  thousand  landscapes  of 
inimitable  beauty,  show  any  signs  of  infirmity,  or 
any  reluctance  or, incapacity  to  sustain  the  myriads 
of  animated  beino^s  which  inhabit  it.  But  the 
time  is  coming  when  they  will  all  become  white 
and  withered  with  age.  The  Scriptures  teach  us 
that "  the  heavens  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment." 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.       233 

These  brilliant  liglits  shall  be  obscured,  and 
gradually  become  dim.  And  this  earth,  so  long 
scourged  by  the  wickedness  of  man,  but  subjected 
to  greater  bondage  when  the  age  of  millennial 
glory  shall  have  passed  away,  shall  give  increasing 
proofs  that  it  feels  the  burden,  and  "  shall  groan 
and  travail  in  pain  together"  to  the  last.  Its  rest- 
less disquietude  shall  break  out  in  terrible  convul- 
sions; in  the  ravages  of  burning  volcanoes,  de- 
structive earthquakes,  gloomy  and  terrific  tem- 
pests ;  till  worn  out  with  the  struggle,  the  earth 
itself  also  shall  wax  old,  and  become  changed. 
And  although,  from  the  operation  of  those  natu- 
ral causes  superinduced  by  the  wickedness  of  these 
last  days,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  will  not 
probably  be  so  great  as  during  the  Millennium, 
yet  will  it  be  occupied  with  a  full  and  crowded 
population.  The  men  of  God,  in  that  apostate 
age,  will  be  few,  but  many,  very  many,  and  like 
the  sands  on  the  shore,  will  be  the  men  of  wicked- 
ness. Led  on  by  the  Prince  of  darkness,  now  for 
a  short  season  loosed  from  his  prison,  they  shall 
go  up  upon  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  earth, 
infuriate  with  rage  against  the  diminished  church 
of  God,  "  scoffers  walking  after  their  own  lusts," 
buried  in  the  guilty  security  of  sin,  and  little 
dreaming  that  the  sun  of  time  is  making  his  last 
circuit  in  the  heavens. 

It  is   then   that   that   immortal   morning  will 


234  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

dawn  wlien  tlie  Son  of  Man  will  come  to  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness.  We  are  told  that 
"  he  shall  come  in  Ids  own  glory T  That  personal 
glory  which  was  beheld  by  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and 
was  seen  by  the  disciples  on  the  Holy  Mount, 
where  "  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  rai 
ment  was  white  as  the  light ;"  that  glory  which 
belongs  to  him  as  the  God  Incarnate,  and  which, 
unveiled,  no  human  eye  ever  saw ;  shall  be  the 
robe  in  which  he  enwraps  himself  as  he  comes  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven.  It  is  not  as  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem  that  he  comes  ;  nor  to  travel  through 
those  scenes  of  deep  humiliation  where  Jew  re- 
proached him,  and  Roman  blasphemed,  and  slaves 
smote,  and  the  rabble  spit  upon  him,  and  sol- 
diers gorgeously  and  fantastically  decked  him  for 
the  altar ;  nor  is  his  visage  now  marred  more  than 
any  man's,  nor  his  form  more  than  the  sons  of 
men.  He  shall  come,  not  only  "  in  his  own  glory," 
but  "  in  the  glory  of  Ms  Father^  His  Father's 
glory  shall  rest  upon  him  in  all  its  brightness  ; 
he  shall  be  the  great  and  only  reiiresentative  of 
the  Deity  in  that  day,  and  all  divine  glories  shall 
be  concentrated  in  his  Person,  And  whatever 
there  is  of  created  glory  in  heaven  shall  also  then 
encircle  him.  Angelic  spirits  that  wait  to  do  his 
pleasure,  and  whose  bright  appearance  has,  from 
time  to  time,  in  different  periods  of  this  world's 
history,  flashed  upon  the  eyes  of  men  like  light- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        235 

ning  from  heaven,  shall  appear  with  him,  adding 
to  the  splendor  of  his  advent.  He  shall  be  "  re- 
vealed from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels ;"  he 
shall  come  "  with  power  and  great  glory  :"  it  will 
be  "  the  glorious  appearing"  of  the  Great  God, 
our  Saviour. 

Once  he  trode  this  earth  in  retirement.  It  was 
an  unnoticed  village  where  he  was  born,  and  ren- 
dered memorable  only  by  his  birth.  It  was  an 
obscure  and  even  ignominious  hamlet  where  he 
was  brought  up.  Many  were  the  solitary  places 
where  he  wept  and  prayed,  unseen  but  by  the 
Great  Invisible,  and  those  heavenly  "Watchers  that 
hovered  about  his  unknown  and  sequestered  paths. 
Now  he  comes  "  in  the  clouds  of  heaven."  And  al- 
though he  comes  suddenly,  and  as  "  the  lightning, 
when  it  shineth  from  the  East  into  the  West,"  the 
thoughtless  woi'ld  will  have  notice  of  his  approach 
in  the  heralding  trumpets  of  his  glorious  attend- 
ants. "  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heav- 
en with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel 
and  the  trump  of  God."  Some  unearthly  blast, 
and  some  brilliant  object,  just  perceptible  in  the 
far  distant  heavens  but  drawing  nearer  and  more 
near,  shall  first  tell  of  his  approach.  No  eye  can 
be  turned  from  the  affecting  sight  even  to  look 
upon  the  obscured  sun  as  it  retires  from  its  Maker's 
presence.  The  descending  Judge  fills  every  eye 
and  every  thought.     Him,  this  astonished  world  is 


236  THE  GLOIiV  OF  CHRIST. 

now  gazing  at  with  startled  apprehension.  "  They 
shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven."  "  Behold  !  he  cometh  with  clouds,  and 
every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced 
him,  and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  be- 
cause of  him."  The  one  single  object  in  the  uni- 
verse to  which  all  eyes  will  be  then  directed, 
whether  it  be  from  heaven,  earth,  or  hell,  will  be 
his  great  glory.  Those  who  have  thought  and  said 
that  his  Advent  is  far  away ;  the  millions  who 
have  taken  refuge  in  their  abjectness,  as  well  as 
those  who  have  gloried  in  their  wealth  and  power  ; 
the  "  kings  of  'the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and 
the  chief  captains  and  mighty  men,"  shall  see  him, 
and  exclaim,  "  Who  can  abide  the  day  of  his  com- 
ing?" 

We  remark  again ;  his  glory  will  be  still  more 
enhanced  by  the  process  and  decisions  of  the  judg- 
ment itself.  His  glorious  appearing  is  no  pageant. 
It  is  not  designed  for  show,  or  entertainment,  nor 
as  a  pompous  triumph,  in  which  the  badges  of  his 
own  regal  and  judicial  authority  are  displayed  for 
the  purpose  of  dazzling  the  eyes  of  the  beholders. 
The  events  and  circumstances  Ave  have  been  con- 
templating are  but  preliminary  to  affairs  of  more 
serious  moment,  and  to  the  great  business  in  which 
every  intelligent  creature  in  the  universe  has  a 
stake  deep  as  eternity. 

When  the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        237 

of  God  shall  sound  the  summons,  both  the  living 
and  the  dead  shall  come  to  judgment.  That  vast 
living  population,  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the 
earth,  from  north  to  south,  and  from  the  rising 
to  the  setting  sun ;  young  and  old,  king  and  slave, 
rich  and  poor,  righteous  and  wicked,  shall  come 
before  his  throne.  And  those  mighty  and  forgot- 
ten ree^ions  of  the  dead,  wherever  their  bodies 
were  deposited,  whether  buried  in  the  earth,  or 
floating  in  the  deep  sea;  whether  consumed  by  the 
flames,  or  enriching  the  battle-field,  or  evaporate 
in  the  atmosphere  ;  all  "  from  Adam  to  the  latest 
born,"  shall  wend  their  way  to  the  great  arena  of 
the  judgment.  Not  one  shall  be  overlooked,  or 
forgotten ;  every  limb,  every  perished  bone,  every 
floating  and  secret  particle  of  dust  shall  obey  the 
summons  and  come  forth.  The  grave  shall  be 
spoiled  of  its  proudest  and  its  meanest  triumphs : 
and  now,  if  one  could  look  upon  the  earth,  he 
would  see  not  only  its  empty  graveyards,  and  va- 
cant cemeteries,  but  the  whole  earth  itself,  and  its 
caverned  oceans,  one  mighty  excavated  globe,  and 
wonder  how  these  countless  generations  could  have 
found  a  dwelling  beneath  its  surface.  For  the  first 
time  and  the  last,  the  entire  race  of  Adam,  of  every 
age,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  will  be  assembled 
in  one  congregation  before  the  Son  of  Man.  It  is 
a  sublime  and  graphic  description  of  this  assem- 
blage given  by  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse,  in 


238  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

which  he  says,  "  Aud  I  saw  a  great  white  throne, 
and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 
and  the  heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found  no 
place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead  small  and 
great  stand  before  God ;  and  the  sea  gave  up  the 
dead  which  were  in  it,  and  death  and  hell  gave  up 
the  dead  which  were  in  them."  And  to  these  shall 
be  added  every  intelliigent  creature,  from  every 
world ;  not  one  shall  be  wanting  of  the  entire  moral 
creation.  Holy  angels  will  be  there  as  the  favored 
attendants  of  their  divine  Judge.  And  the  un- 
holy too,  Satan  with  all  his  legions,  those  seducers 
of  man,  those  corrupters  and  destroyers  of  his  race, 
those  vaunting  enemies  of  God  and  his  Son,  whom 
he  has  ''  reserved  in  everlasting  chains,  under  dark- 
ness, unto  the  judgment  of  the  Great  Day,"  shall 
be  summoned  from  their  dark  abodes. 

There  will  be  a  marked  distinction  then  between 
the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 
Those  there  will  be  who  will  "  awake  to  evei-last- 
ing  life ;"  and  those  there  will  be  who  "  shall  awake 
to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  The  ungod- 
ly and  the  sinner  shall  awake,  from  Cain  down  to 
the  last  reprobate  of  the  human  family.  They 
may  have  glittered  in  the  circles  of  fashion  and 
beauty  on  the  earth  ;  they  may  have  lived  in  honor 
and  the  adulations  of  their  fellow-men  may  have 
followed  them  to  the  grave ;  b»ut  they  are  now 
stripped  of  their  disguise,  loaded  with  infamy,  and 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.       239 

held  in  detestation  by  every  being  in  the  universe. 
Their  bodies  will  be  a  fit  dwelling  for  their  vile 
minds.  With  all  those  fearful  and  horrid  expres- 
sions which  every  base  and  malignant  passion 
wakes  up  in  the  human  countenance,  stamped  upon 
it  for  eternity,  and  burnt  in  by  the  flaming  fury 
of  their  own  terrific  wickedness,  they  will  be  con- 
demned to  look  upon  their  own  defoi-mity,  and  to 
feel  that  they  are  fitted  for  the  doom  of  outcasts. 
The  bodies  of  the  righteous  will  have  no  such 
loathsome  attendants.  "  Sown  in  corruption,  they 
will  be  raised  in  incorruption ;  sown  in  dishonor, 
they  will  be  raised  in  glory ;  sown  in  weakness, 
they  will  be  raised  in  power ;  sown  a  natural  body, 
they  will  be  raised  a  spiritual  body."  When  the 
souls  of  the  righteous,  who  have  slept  in  their 
graves  until  the  resurrection,  shall  be  reunited  to 
bodies  thus  incorruptible,  glorious,  vigorous,  spir- 
itual, and  immortal,  the  union  will  be  a  most  wel- 
come and  delightful  union.  They  will  have  left 
all  that  was  defiled  by  sin  in  the  grave.  There 
sleep  the  ashes  of  every  vile  appetite  and  passion. 
Sin  perished  within  them  when  these  bodies  were 
committed  to  the  dust ;  and  God  provided  it  a  fit- 
ting burial.  It  sank  in  the  silent  depths  of  obliv- 
ion, buried  so  deep  that  the  archangel's  trump 
shall  not  waken  it.  No  scar,  no  stain  of  infirmity 
shall  remain  upon  their  persons ;  they  will  be  in 
delightful   correspondence    with   their   character, 


240  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

radiant  with  the  beauties  of  holiness,  lighted  up 
with  everlasting  smiles,  resplendent  as  the  reflected 
glory  of  their  risen  Lord,  and  "  like  him,  for  they 
shall  see  him  as  he  is."  The  glorious  transforma- 
tion is  perfected  of  which  all  were  the  expectants, 
who  "  looked  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  shall  change 
his  vile  body  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto 
their  oivn  glorious  hodyT 

Of  the  comparatively  few  holy  persons  who 
are  found  alive  on  the  earth,  at  this  universal 
resurrection,  we  have  a  short,  but  satisfactory  ac- 
count. After  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  first  have 
risen^  these  living  saints  shall  experience  a  ti-ans- 
formation  which  is  equivalent  to  the  resurrection 
of  those  who  slept  in  Jesus.  Their  bodies  "  shall 
be  chmiged  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump ;  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead 
shall  be  raised,  and  we  shall  be  changed.  The 
living  righteous  shall  not  anticipate  or  take  the 
precedence  of  the  sleeping  dead.  "  We  which  are 
alive,"  says  the  apostle,  "  and  remain  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are 
asleep.  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven  M'ith  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  arch- 
angel and  ■  the  trump  of  God ;  and  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  fh'st  rise ;  then  we  which  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  in  the 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air." 

The   assembled   universe   will    now   stand    at 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        241 

Clirist's  Judgment-seat.  "  Before  him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations.  The  dead,  small  and  great, 
shall  stand  before  God.  And  the  books  shall  be 
opened  ;  and  another  book,  which  is  the  book  of 
life;  and  the  dead  shall  be  judged  out  of  those 
things  which  are  written  in  the  books,  accord- 
ing to  their  works."  There  has  been  a  mi- 
nute inspection  of  the  character  of  men  in  all 
the  pi'ogressive  ages  of  time,  and  an  impartial 
and  true  record  of  what  they  have  done,  and  what 
they  have  left  undone.  The  eyes  of  Him  who 
is  seated  on  the  throne  have,  from  the  begin- 
ning, been  running  to  and  fro  throughout  the 
earth,  with  a  special  view  to  the  investigations, 
disclosures,  and  decisions  of  the  Great  Day.  There 
has  been  no  escape  from  his  inspection,  and  there 
will  be  no  escape  from  this  judicial  inquiry. 
Ever}^  son  and  daughter  of  Adam  will  then  be 
found  sustaining  the  same  character,  and  in  the 
same  state  in  which  they  lived  and  died.  There 
will  be  no  deception  on  their  part ;  and  there  will 
be  no  collusion  on  the  part  of  the  Judge.  The 
great  inquiry  will  be,  Who  are  the  righteous,  and 
who  are  the  wicked  ;  who  are  the  friends  of  God, 
and  who  are  his  enemies  ?  The  decisions  of  the 
Judge  will  be  made  dependent  upon  tlie  cliaracter. 
Men  are  to  be  "judged  according  to  their  works," 
because  their  works  are  indices  of  their  cliaracter. 
"  Every  one  will  receive  in  his  body  according  to 

VOL.  II.  11 


242  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad," 
because  these  things  show  his  character,  and  make 
it  appear  whether  he  is  a  good  or  a  bad  man. 
When  the  books  shall  be  opened,  there  will  be  a 
full  and  convincing  demonstration  of  the  true 
character  of  all  intelligent  beings.  The  looh  of 
nature  will  then  be  opened ;  and  since  the  want 
of  knowledge  diminishes  both  the  turpitude  of 
sin  and  its  punishment,  "  as  many  as  have  sinned 
without  the  law,  shall  perish  without  law."  The 
hooli  of  iwovidence  will  then  be  opened  ;  and  the 
character  of  men  will  be  tried  by  all  the  means 
and  influences  which  have  contributed  to  render  it 
what  it  shall  then  be  found.  The  look  of  grace 
will  then  be  opened ;  and  it  shall  be  seen  what 
character  this  countless  multitude  have  formed 
under  the  power  of  gospel-truth,  and  what  influ- 
ence this  method  of  redemption  for  the  fallen  and 
guilty  has  exerted  upon  them,  and  to  Avhom  it  has 
proved  a  savor  of  life  unto  life,  and  to  whom  a 
savor  of  death  unto  death.  Then  too  the  hook  of 
conscience  will  be  opened ;  and  every  one  will  in- 
tuitively and  irresistibly  perceive  his  own  charac- 
ter, form  his  OAvn  judgment,  and  pass  his  own  sen- 
tence. And  tlie  LamVs  hooh  of  Life  too  will  be 
opened,  containing  the  record  of  their  names, 
whose  repentance,  and  faith,  and  love,  and  corres- 
ponding conduct  evince  that  they  are  the  ft-iends 
of  Christ,  have  taken  refuge  in  the  gospel  of  his 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.     243 

grace,  and  have  lived  not  nnto  themselves,  but  to 
him  who  died  for  them.  As  the  Judge  is  just, 
these  discriminations  will  be  impartially  made 
and  universally  recognized. 

This  solemn  investigation  completed,  that  mighty 
host  of  beings  shall  then  take  their  places,  the 
righteous  on  the  right  hand,  and  the  wicked  on 
the  left  of  the  Judge.  The  separation  will  begin 
which  will  continue  forever.  Never  till  then  will 
the  full  import  of  those  words  be  understood, 
"  Let  both  grow  together  till  the  harvest."  The 
hour  has  come  when  "  the  angels  shall  come  forth, 
and  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the  just."  They 
may  have  dwelt  together  in  this  world,  and  have 
been  partakers  of  the  same  sorrows  and  joys, 
worshipped  in  the  same  sanctuary,  and  eaten  at 
the  same  table,  and  slept  in  the  same  grave.  But 
these  associations  and  sympathies  are  over ;  the 
line  of  separation  is  drawn  between  the  friends 
of  God  and  his  enemies,  however  intimate  their 
former  associations.  The  strongest  tie  that  here 
bound  men  together  is  not  too  strong  to  be  sever- 
ed by  those  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  "sever 
the  wicked  from  among  the  just."  These  bonds 
can  hold  together  no  longer ;  and  these  once  in- 
dissoluble attachments  shall  be  dissolved  by  their 
own  uncongenial  elements. 

It  is  a  heart-affecting  view  even  to  anticipate 
that  solemn  scene.     There  on  the  right  hand  are 


244  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  followers  of  tlie  Lamb  of  every  age,  and 
clirae,  and  name.  Princes  are  there  who  offered 
him  their  gifts,  and  kings  who  fell  down  before 
him ;  and  there  are  peasants  who  feared  God  and 
loved  his  Son.  The  missionary  of  the  cross  is 
there,  whose  love  to  Christ  led  him  to  make  his 
grave  in  foreign  lands  ;  and  the  humble  islander  is 
there,  who  only  learned  in  ruder  accents  to  speak 
his  Redeemer's  praise.  The  faithful  minister  is 
there,  who  lived  and  toiled  not  for  the  praise  or 
the  gold  of  men,  but  for  his  Master's  honor  and 
for  the  flock  committed  to  his  trust.  And  there 
is  the  flock  which  he  guided  in  the  way  of  life, 
and  the  strayed  sheep  and  lambs  which  he 
gathered  into  the  fold  of  the  Great  Shepherd. 
There  are  the  matron  and  the  sire  whose  house- 
hold altar  was  consecrated  to  Israel's  God  ;  and  for 
whose  fidelity  and  prayers,  their  children,  on  that 
Great  Day,  rise  up  from  one  common  grave  with 
them  to  call  them  blessed.  There  is  the  long-lost 
wanderer  whom  heaven's  tenderest  mercy  sought 
and  found,  and  took  off  his  clothes  of  shame,  and 
decked  him  in  garments  clean  and  white  as  the 
fine  linen  of  the  saints.  There  are  the  aged, 
whose  hoary  head  was  a  crown  of  glory  because 
found  in  the  way  of  righteousness ;  and  there  the 
youthful  piety,  so  full  of  promise,  that  bloomed 
for  an  early  grave,  and  that  now  bears 'its  immor- 
tal fruits ;   and  there  the  smiling  infancy  of  by- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.   24:5 

gone  centuries  washed  pure  in  the  second  Adam's 
blood,  and  folded  in  his  bosom  who  took  the  little 
children  in  his  arms.  The  Christian  sisters  meet 
there  to  part  no  more ;  and  the  parted  bridegroom 
and  his  bride,  and  the  widow  and  her  husband, 
all  bound  in  Christian  bonds  never  to  be  sundered, 
meet  there  to  celebrate  their  everlasting  nuptials 
at  the  Marriage-Supper  of  the  Lamb. 

"  How  fair  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  then  ! 
How  gloi'iously  from  Zion's  hill  she  looks  ! 
Clothed  with  the  sun,  and  in  her  train  the  moon, 
And  on  her  head  a  coronet  of  stars, 
And  girdling  round  her  waist  with  heavenly  grace, 
The  bow  of  mercy  bright ;  and  in  her  hand 
Immarmcrs  cross,  her  sceptre  and  her  hope  /" 

Bat  what  a  strange  assembly  is  that  on  the  left 
of  the  Eternal  Judge  !  There  are  all  God's  ene- 
mies of  every  name  and  degree.  Kings  who 
reigned  in  wickedness  are  there,  but  without  their 
crowns.  Rich  men  are  there  who  laid  up  treas- 
ures on  the  earth,  and  were  not  rich  toward  God  ; 
but  with  none  of  the  appendages  of  their  wealth 
and  pride.  And  poor  men  are  there,  whose  pov- 
erty was  their  wickedness,  and  who  learn  too  late, 

"  that  to  do  nothing  was  to  serve 


The  Devil,  and  transgress  the  laws  of  God." 

There  is  the  oppressor,   but  with  no  remaining 
power  to  oppress.     There  is  the  mighty  chieftain 


246  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

famed  in  unjust  and  inglorious  war,  and  now  a 
bloody  culprit  at  his  bar  who  is  the  last  Con- 
queror. There  is  the  skeptic  whose  vaunting 
reason  would  not  trust  the  word  of  God ;  and  the 
man  of  science  who  sought  all  knowledge  but  the 
knowledge  of  his  Maker ;  and  the  cunning  crafts- 
man, and  the  eloquent  orator  whose  hand  and 
tongue  were  all  for  self  and  evil.  There  is  the 
thief  and  robber,  and  the  practised  cheat  and 
liar,  waiting  for  their  portion  in  the  burning  lake. 
There  is  the  duellist,  hot  from  the  field  of  proud 
resentment  and  of  blood ;  and  there  the  suicide, 
who 

"  tired  of  time,  with  his  own  hand 


Opened  the  portals  of  eternity, 

And  sooner  than  devils  hoped  arrived 

In  hell." 

All  the  forms  of  voluptuousness  and  sensuality  are 
there ;  the  epicure,  the  reeling  drunkard,  the  foul 
adulterer  and  adulteress,  and  the  thousands  who 
live  for  sport  and  merriment.  There  are  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  fashion  and  of  pleasure,  who 
lived  only  to  be  seen  and  admired,  and  for  whom 
the  halls  of  mirth  had  more  powerfid  attractions 
than  the  house  of  prayer.  Nor  are  they  these 
alone.  There  is  the  hypocrite,  gone  from  the  com- 
munion-table or  from  the  pulpit  to  hear  the  voice, 
"  I  never  knew  you,  depart  from  me  ye  that  work 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.       247 

iniquity."  There  are  the  thoughtless  millions 
who 

''  got  no  time 

To  think,  and  never  thought,  till  on  the  rock 
They  dashed  of  ruin,  anguish,  and  despair." 

There  is  the  delaying  sinner  who  put  off  the  work 
of  repentance  till  death  awoke  him  to  his  doom. 
And  there  are  the  multitudes,  who  when  God 
called  refused  to  hear,  and  who  grieved  his  Spirit 
till  the  harvest  was  past.  All  these  and  kin- 
dred spirits  are  wicked  and  unholy,  and  despised 
God's  great  salvation.  Their  iniquity  no  longer 
keeps  them  in  obscurity  ;  their  artifices  no  longer 
excuse  them ;  nor  will  they  be  protected  by  the 
impudence  of  sin.  Those  who  have  deceived 
themselves  and  those  who  have  deceived  others, 
as  well  as  those  who  gloried  in  their  shame,  and 
scandalized  the  world,  are  now  seen  in  their  true 
character,  and  are  confounded  before  God,  angels 
and  men.  At  the  summons  of  the  severing  angels 
each  separates  for  his  own  place.  What  a  sub- 
lime, yet  touching  and  mournful  scene,  when  the 
breathless  silence  of  that  countless  concourse  shall 
be  disturbed,  and  the  righteous  shall  move  in  un- 
broken and  outspread  phalanx  to  the  right  hand 
of  the  Judge,  and  the  wicked  tread  their  mournful 
way  to  his  left ! 

It  is  not  merely  a  day  of  trial,  but  of  judg- 
ment and  decision.     Listen  to  the  affecting  narra- 


248  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

tive  of  these  closing  scenes,  told  in  the  simple  and 
impressive  language  of  the  great  Judge  himself: 
"  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory, 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  before  him 
shall  stand  all  nations.  And  he  shall  separate 
them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth 
his  sheep  from  the  goats.  And  he  shall  set  the 
sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left. 
Then  shall  the  king  say  to  those  on  his  light 
hand,  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world !  Then  shall  he  say  also  to  them  on  his 
left  hand.  Depart  from  me  ye  cursed  into  everlast- 
ing fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 
And  these  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but 
the  righteous  into  life  eternal !"  Such  is  the  glory 
of  the  Judge,  in  the  process  and  decisions  of  the 
judgment.  His  presence,  his  eye,  his  voice,  his 
throne  of  justice  and  judgment,  his  edict,  obeyed 
by  angels,  men  and  devils,  these  constitute  his 
glory  on  that  tremendously  glorious  day  ! 

One  more  thought :  The  final  issues  of  the  Judg- 
ment^ more  than  all,  disclose  the  glory  of  the  Judge. 
We  have  seen  what  they  are,  as  they  respect  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked.  And  they  will  never 
alter.  The  edict  is  final.  There  is  no  appeal  from 
this  last  and  highest  tribunal  in  the  universe.  The 
sentence  is  conclusive.     The  righteous  do  not  fear, 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        24:9 

the  wicked  do  not  hope  that  it  will  ever  be  re- 
versed. His  glorious  high  throne  who  utters  it, 
stands  impregnable  on  the  unchanging  issues  of 
this  Last  Day.  It  reads  lessons  for  eternity  which 
give  it  the  most  conspicuous  place  in  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  They  are  lessons  upon  the  past, 
vindicating  the  ways  of  God  to  man ;  they  are 
lessons  upon  the  future,  exalting  him  as  God  over 
all  blessed  forever.  Nothing  now  remains  but  the 
destruction  of  this  worn  out  earth  and  this  mate- 
rial universe,  and  the  commencement  of  that  new 
order  of  things  which  shall  never  be  disturbed. 
"  The  heavens  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and 
the  elements  melt  with  fervent  heat,  and  the  earth 
also,  and  all  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be 
burnt  up,"  and  there  shall  "  be  found  no  place  for 
them." 

"  See  how  the  mountains,  how  the  valleys  burn  ; 
The  Ancles  burn,  the  Alps,  the  Appenines, 
Taurus  and  Atlas ;  all  the  islands  burn  ; 
The  ocean  burns,  and  rolls  his  waves  of  flame. 

Nature  dies,  and  God 

And  angels  come  to  lay  her  in  her  grave ; 

O  earth !  thy  hour  is  come ! 

And  the  last  sand  falls  from  the  glass  of  time." 

Then  shall  appear  "  New  heavens  and  a  new 
earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."  Creation, 
providence  and  redemption  shall  have  accom- 
plished their  object,  and  the  end  of  the  great  Re- 
deemer's incarnation,  death  and  mediatorial  reign 
11* 


250  THE  GLORY  OP  CHRIST. 

be  attained.  A  new  era  in  tlie  divine  government 
shall  commence,  marked  by  no  changes  of  charac- 
ter, or  destiny,  and  only  marked  by  its  forthgoing, 
and  everlasting  progress.  The  last  revolution  in 
the  universe  has  taken  place,  because  the  plans  of 
the  "  God  only  wise"  require  no  further  change, 
in  order  to  their  perfect  consummation.  There 
will  l)e  no  new  form,  and  no  new  variety  in  the 
divine  administrations.  Time  is  the  great  inter- 
preter of  his  mysterious  designs,  and  time  has  had 
its  course.  Everything  is  tranquil  now.  No  tem- 
pest bursts  upon  the  calm  surface.  It  is  a  new 
Dispensation ;  the  last  Dispensation ;  the  Dispen- 
sation of  eternity. 

And  in  these  final  issues,  how  is  the  Son  of  God 
glorified !  Long  and  terrible  has  been  his  strug- 
gle ;  but  the  conflict  is  past.  For  thousands  of 
years  has  he  maintained  it  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
world,  and  with  principalities  and  powers  of  dark- 
ness, and  through  deep  humiliation  and  agony. 
Nor  does  he  regret  it  now,  but  looks  back  to  the 
darkest  hour  with  joy.  For  this  end  was  he  born, 
and  for  this  cause  came  he  into  the  world.  For 
this  did  he  become  the  Priest  and  Sacrifice  that 
he  might  bear  witness  to  the  truth,  and  that  truth 
and  holiness  might  triumph.  For  this  did  he  be- 
come the  Teacher  and  the  King  in  Zion,  that  he 
might  thus  be  "  Lord  of  the  living  and  the  dead." 
He  is  the  Conqueror  now  over  Sin,  Death,  and 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        251 

Hell.  Grace  and  righteousness  conquer  and  divide 
this  last  reward.  What  was  once  but  the  emblem 
.  of  suffering  and  of  hope  has  now  become  the  signal 
of  triumph.  That  bloody  banner,  the  Cross,  which 
was  flung  to  the  winds  of  time  when  he  was  "  lifted 
up,"  now  waves  over  the  redeemed  creation,  and 
the  song  is  everywhere  heard,  "  Salvatioist  to  our 
God  who  sittetii  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
THE  Lamb  !"  It  is  the  "  song  of  Moses,  the  servant 
of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying  Great 

AND  MARVELLOUS  ARE  THY  WORKS,  LoRD  GoD  AL- 
MIGHTY ;  JUST  AND  TRUE  ARE  THY  WAY^S,  THOU  KiNCr 

OF  SAINTS  !  The  Accuser  is  cast  down ;  and  he  who 
is  seated  on  the  throne  proclaims,  "  It  is  done  :  I 
AM  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the 


END! 


!" 


Such  is  the  glory  of  Christ  as  the  Final  Judge 
— manifested  in  the  time  when  the  Judgment  will 
take  place — in  the  fact  that  he  himself  is  the  Judge 
— in  the  manner  in  which  he  loill  come  to  the  judg- 
ment— in  t\iQ process  and  decisions  of  the  judgment 
— and  in  the  issues  of  that  Great  Day  itself 

If  there  be  a  subject  in  which  every  living  man 
has  an  interest,  it  is  this  expression  of  the  Recieem- 
er''s  glory.  All  worlds  will,  on  that  day,  gather 
round  the  judgment-seat  to  fix  their  eyes  on  this 
Son  of  Man.  Your  destiny  and  mine  will  then 
depend  upon  the  fact  whether  we  have  lived  to 
honor  him,  and  whether  the  joy  of  our  existence 


252  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

will  be  to  do  liim  honor  forever.  Every  one 
of  us  must  give  an  account  of  "  himself  unto 
God ;"  and  this  will  be  the  test.  Happy  day  will 
that  be  to  millions.  Happy  will  it  be  to  the 
astonished  Centurion  who  exclaimed  at  his  cross, 
"  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God !"  Happy  will 
it  be  to  those  daughters  of  grief,  who  went  forth 
from  Jerusalem,  bathed  in  tears,  to  attend  the 
forsaken  Sutferer  to  the  place  of  skulls!  Hap- 
py will  it  be  to  the  enraptured  Paul,  who,  amid 
all  the  ignominy  cast  upon  his  divine  Lord,  could 
say,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  I  am 
crucified  to  the  world,  and  the  world  to  me !" 
Happy  will  it  be  to  all  those  who  have  "  come  out 
of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 
Happy  will  it  be  to  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
in  sincerity ;  who  have  consented  to  take  up  their 
cross  and  follow  him,  through  evil  report  and  good 
report,  and  who  were  willing  to  suffer  with  him, 
that  they  might  be  glorified  together.  Happy 
will  it  be  to  those  who  were  not  ashamed  of  him 
and  of  his  words  in  this  evil  and  crooked  genera- 
tion, and  of  whom  he  will  not  be  ashamed  when 
he  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  and  of  the 
holy  angels ! 

A  "  wrathful  day"  will  it  be  to  every  other  son 
and  daughter  of  Adam.    Miserable,  beyond  utter- 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  AS  THE  FINAL  JUDGE.        253 

ance,  will  the  man  then  be,  who,  in  the  Saviour 
he  has  rejected,  sees  the  Judge  from  whom  he  can- 
not flee ;  and  who  because  he  despised  him  on  the 
cross^  cannot  stand  before  him  on  the  throne.  The 
voice  of  the  archangel  will  not  utter  a  more  tre- 
mendous sentence  than  those  words,  "  If  any  man 
love  not  the  Lord  Jesus,  let  iiim  be  Anathema  !" 
I  utter  this  closing  paragraph  then  to  you  who 
do  not  love  him.  The  best  and  most  fitting  thing 
we  can  say  to  you  is,  that  repentance  is  the  great 
doctrine,  the  revealed  privilege,  the  sweet  hope 
of  his  precious  gospel.  "God  now  commandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent^  because  he  hath 
appointed  a  clay  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the 
WORLD  in  righteousness."  Retrace  your  downward 
steps,  and  repair,  in  true  and  godly  sorrow  for 
your  sins,  to  his  cross.  Mourn  and  be  in  bitter- 
ness, as  one  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first  born,  over 
your  rejection  of  him.  So  true  is  it  that  all  holi- 
ness and  all  happiness  are  bound  up  in  Christ,  that 
severed  from  him  there  is  nothing  but  wickedness, 
and  therefore  nothing  but  tribulation  and  anguish 
to  every  soul  of  man.  Most  glorious  will  he  be, 
when  he  comes  to  judge  the  world.  Upon  his 
head  the  crown  shall  floui'ish,  while  all  his  enemies 
shall  be  clothed  with  shame. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHRIST  GLORIOUS   IN   THE   DESTRlTCTIOlSr    OF   HIS 
ENE.AIIES. 

We  would  not  willingly  stand  convicted  either 
oF  the  want  of  fidelity,  or  the  want  of  tenderness, 
in  speaking  of  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  wicked.  The  subject  is  one  fitted  to 
awaken  both  terror  and  compassion.  It  does,  as  it 
were,  survey  the  great  battle-field  of  the  universe 
after  the  battle  is  over;  where  the  Omnipotent 
One  is  the  Conqueror,  and  those  who  have  met 
him  on  terms  of  mortal  defiance,  are  agonizing  in 
the  last  struggle. 

Those  there  have  been  who  have  denied  all  dis- 
tinction between  truth  and  fidsehood,  right  and 
wrong,  virtue  and  vice ;  and  who  therefore  deny 
that  there  is  any  essential  difference  of  character 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  What 
they  deny  is  the  great  fact  which  the  Sacred  Wri- 
ters as-mme  in  maintaining  the  authoritative  and 
penal  character  of  the  divine  government.  If  there 
be  no  such  thing  as  good  and  evil,  sin  and  holiness 


DESTRUCTION  OF  llIS  ENEMIES.  255 

in  the  universe  ;  then  is  there  no  difference  of  char- 
acter in  angels  and  devils,  and  in  good  men  and 
bad.  We  cannot  proceed  a  step  in  vindicating  the 
Kedeemer's  glory  in  the  destruction  of  his  enemies, 
without  recognizing  the  radical  differepce  of  char- 
acter between  his  enemies  and  his  friends.  This 
great  truth  lies  at  the  foundation  both  of  his  moral 
and  mediatorial  government;  nor  is  there  one 
which  the  Scriptures  more  abundantly  recognize, 
or  on  which  they  more  strongly  insist.  They  rec- 
ognize it  in  the  different  appellations  they  give 
to  these  two  great  classes  of  men,  in  the  intelligible 
descriptions  they  give  of  their  characters,  by  every 
truth  they  reveal,  and  every  j^romise  and  threat- 
ening they  utter.  It  is  only  by  denying,  or  keep- 
ing this  essential  distinction  out  of  sight,  that  sub- 
tle heretics  have  been  able  to  deny  the  final  sepa- 
I'ation  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  in  the 
future  world.  There  is  no  one  point  of  Christian 
doctrine  on  which  the  minds  of  men  are  more  ex- 
posed to  be  corrupted  by  those  wdio  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive,  than  this.  Let  a  man  once  be  persuaded 
that,  after  all,  there  is  no  great  difference  between 
good  men  and  bad,  and  certainly  no  essential  differ- 
ence of  character  between  them ;  and  his  conscience 
may  sleep.  There  is  no  anodyne  more  effective, 
no  poison  more  delicate  and  insinuating.  This 
diffei-ence  of  character  is  the  reasoH  why  the  Su- 
preme Judge  treats  them  so  differently  in  the  eter- 


256  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

nal  world.  All  men  are  by  nature  his  enemies ; 
but  there  are  those  whose  enmity  to  him  is  sub- 
dued, and  superseded  by  love  and  loyalty.  These 
are  his  friends ;  they  are  the  friends  of  truth  and 
holiness,  the  friends  of  law  and  order,  the  friends 
of  God  and  man,  and  will  be  found  on  his  right 
hand  when  he  comes  to  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness. Those  whose  enmity  remains  unsub- 
dued, and  who  prove  fierce  and  intractable  in  their 
hostility  are  radically  different  from  these,  and  are 
assigned  to  a  very  difterent  destiny.  They  will  be 
found  on  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge,  and  to  them 
he  will  say,  "  De2:)art,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  Devil  and  his  angels !" 
We  have  seen  some  of  the  o'lories  of  his  charac- 

o 

ter ;  but  is  he  glorious  in  the  execution  of  this  fear- 
ful sentence  ?  This  is  the  single  question  we  pro- 
pose to  discuss  in  the  present  chapter. 

In  doing  this,  it  is  necessary,  in  the  first  place, 
to  direct  our  thoughts  to  the  destruction  itself 
which  will  be  inflicted. 

For  reasons  unknown  to  us,  but  unquestionably 
wise,  God  has  seen  fit  to  shroud  that  world  of 
darkness  in  a  veil  of  impenetrable  mystery.  It 
would  be  in  harmony  with  the  emblematical  repre- 
sentations of  the  heavenly  world,  if  similar  repre- 
sentations were  adopted  in  relation  to  the  fearful 
allotment  which  awaits  the  ungodly.  This  is  prob- 
ably the  case.     The  lake  of  fire — the  worm  that 


PUNISHMENT  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  257 

never  dies — the  bottomless  pit — the  ascending 
smoke  of  torment — the  wine  of  God's  wrath — the 
chains — the  brimstone — the  consuming  of  the  flesh 
— the  gnashing  of  teeth — the  parched  tongue  and 
the  unslaked  thirst  may  be  regarded  as  emblems 
fearfully  descriptive  of  that  state  of  mental  and 
corporeal  suffering  which  are  reserved  for  the 
wicked.  The  very  fact  that  the  sacred  writers, 
under  the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit,  have  chosen 
such  emblems  is  of  fearfid  import.  They  do  not 
seem  to  be  capable  of  a  literal  construction  be- 
cause they  are  confused  and  contradictory ;  while 
they  teach  us  that  it  must  be  a  dreadful  recom- 
pense which  requires  to  be  set  forth  by  such  fear- 
ful and  energetic  imagery.  Our  knowledge  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  damned  is  a  very  imperfect  knowl- 
edge. What  God  has  revealed  concerning  it  offers 
little  gratification  to  restless  cui-iosity.  When  his 
own  hand  lifts  the  veil  from  that  unknown  world 
and  ushers  the  ungodly  into  their  unalterable  des- 
tiny, it  will  be  time  enough  for  them  to  know  in 
full  measure  in  what  the  woes  of  that  place  of  tor- 
ment consist.  Some  things  we  know  concerning 
it,  and  they  may  be  expressed  in  the  following 
particulars. 

We  know,  in  the  first  instance,  that  there  is 
mich  a  place  as  hell.  There  is  as  much  evidence 
that  there  is  a  hell,  as  that  there  is  a  heaven,  and 
that  it  has  a  distinct  existence  and  a  local  identity. 


258  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

We  know  not  where  it  is,  nor  of  what  its  deep 
foundations  are  composed,  nor  how  its  adaman- 
tine walls  are  built;  nor,  in  many  particidars,  do 
we  know  in  Avhat  its  suftering  consists.  But  we 
know  that  there  is  such  a  world.  Infidels  may 
sneer  at  it;  Universalists  may  scoff  at  the  very 
name ;  carelessness  and  stupidity  may  not  allow 
themselves  to  think  of  it;  yet  there  it  stands, 
supported  by  the  pillars  of  eternal  truth  and  jus- 
tice, and  neither  skepticism  nor  obduracy  can 
strike  it  out  of  existence.  The  Scriptures  speak 
of  it  in  scores  of  places  both  in  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New.  They  teach  us  that  "  the  wicked 
shall  be  tnrned  into  Itell  f  that  ^''hell  hath  enlarged 
herself;"  that  there  are  those  who  cannot  "escape 
the  damnation  of  hell f  that  God  is  able  "to  de- 
stroy both  body  and  soul  in  hell;''''  that  God 
"spared  not  the  angels,  but  cast  them  down  to 
hell;''''  and  that  the  punishment  "prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels"  will  be  the  punishment  of 
ungodly  men.  In  some  part  of  God's  widely-ex- 
tended dominions  God  has  prepared  this  world  of 
suffering,  this  place  of  residence  for  the  lost. 
There  are  the  souls  of  all  who  have  died  and  will 
die  in  their  sins,  and  there  their  bodies  will  be 
after  the  resurrection.  There  are  all  the  elements 
of  suffering  Avhich,  after  the  final  judgment,  will 
be  found  in  the  universe ;  and  there  are  all  those 
means  and  instruments  which  the  justice  of  the 


PUNISHMENT  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  259 

great  God  lias  prepared  to  express  liis  everlasting 
abhorrence  of  sin,  and  to  inflict  deserved  punish- 
ment on  the  sinner.  This  is  that  outer  darkness 
and  that  lake  of  fire.  Every  token  of  divine 
anger  distinguishes  these  regions  of  eternal  doom. 
When  Judas  "  went  to  his  own  place,"  this  is  the 
place  where  he  went.  When  "Capernaum  was 
bi'ought  down  to  hell,"  this  is  the  place  to  which 
she  was  brought  down.  When  licentious  Sodom 
was  wrapped  in  flames,  this  is  the  place  to  which 
she  descended,  "suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal 
fii-e."  Over  that  dismal  territory  the  enemies  of 
God  shall  wander,  unforgiving  and  unforgiven, 
outcasts  from  the  New  Jerusalem.  This  is  the 
place  of  their  punishment,  their  gloomy  pi'ison, 
deep  and  large,  where  omnipotence  consigns  them ; 
the  proper  place  of  their  punishment,  their  joyless 
and  gloomy  eternity. 

The  next  fact  we  know  concerning  that  melan- 
choly world  is,  that  it  is  a  world  of  actual^  living^  S 
conscious  existences.  The  Scriptures  speak  of 
the  destruction  of  the  wicked ;  but  by  this  they 
never  mean  their  annihilation.  Annihilation  is 
no  punishment;  when  once  these  creatures  of 
God  are  annihilated,  there  is  nothing  to  punish. 
The  penalty  of  sin  is  suffering,  and  therefore  there 
is  a  suffei'er.  The  redundant  descriptions  of  the 
misery  of  the  lost  which  are  found  in  the  Bible, 
necessarily  imply  a  state  of  conscious  existence. 


■  260  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

The  soul  will  not  lose  any  of  its  intellectual  or 
moral  powei's,  or  any  of  its  capacities  for  suffering, 
because  it  is  banished  to  hell.  Its  perceptions 
will  be  clear  and  vivid,  its  thoughts  vigorous,  its 
volitions  strong,  its  memory  retentive,  its  imagina- 
tion brilliant,  and  all  its  sensitiveness  quickened 
by  its  dismission  from  this  sluggish  and  material 
habitation  of  flesh  and  blood.  Hell  is  no  drowsy, 
slurnl)ering  world  ;  "  they  rest  not  day  nor  night," 
There  are  no  waters  of  forgetfulness  there  in  which 
the  mind  can  bathe  and  forget  its  son'ows ;  and  no 
Lethean  opiates  whose  draught  can  lull  it  to  re- 
pose. Wicked  men  may  trifle  away  their  day  of 
grace ;  they  may  sleep  away  their  Sabbaths,  and 
lock  up  their  thoughts  in  profound  stupidity,  amid 
scenes  which  make  devils  tremble  and  angels 
weep;  but  there  will  be  no  stupidity  and  no 
trifling  when  once  they  awake  in  hell.  It  is 
no  world  of  dreams;  nor  are  there  found  there 
any  fond  conceits  of  unconscious  being.  Men  who 
enter  it,  will  know  that  they  are  ;  and  when  they 
suffer,  they  will  know  that  it  is  the  wrath  of  God 
they  suffer,  and  for  what  they  suffer  it.  Multiplied 
sins  will  ris^e  up  to  their  remembrance;  lost  Sab 
baths,  perverted  means  of  grace,  abused  bounties 
of  providence,  a  wasted  life,  and  a  death  of  impen 
itence  and  unbelief  will  all  be  recalled.  'Not  one 
active  principle  of  their  nature  will  be  eradicated 
or   paralyzed.     They  will  thinh,  and   be  always 


PUNISHMENT  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  261 

thinking ;  and  O  what  thoughts !  they  will  fee\ 
and  more  keenly  than  they  ever  felt;  they  will 
live^  and  still  live  if  it  were  only  to  perpetuate  the 
threatened,  executed  death  of  God's  hojy  law. 

A  third  fact  distinctly  revealed  concerning  their 
destruction  is,  that  they  sliall  all  he  united  tvith 
the  most  degrading  and  debasing  society  in  the  'uni- 
verse. It  is  a  fearful  allotment  to  be  cut  oft*  from 
all  intercourse  with  holy  beings,  and  suffer  an 
eternal  separation  of  the  soul  from  God,  and  from 
the  presence  of  his  glory ;  but  the  anguish  is  in- 
conceivable to  be  shut  up  in  hell  with  all  the  un- 
godly of  every  age  of  time,  every  nation  and 
language,  and  of  every  degree  of  wickedness,  and 
with  the  devil  and  his  angels.  The  society  of 
heaven  is  too  pure  and  holy  for  them  ;  they  have 
no  sympathies  with  that  blessed  world  ;  it  is  a 
different  companionship  only  for  which  they  are 
fitted.  However  the  less  debased  may  shrink 
from  such  fellowship,  this  is  the  world  and  this 
the  society  in  which  they  must  dwell.  The  last 
sentence  consigns  all  them  who  work  iniquity  in 
the  universe  to  the  society  of  the  damned.  Who 
can  speak  of  the  sources  of  wretchedness  in  a  so- 
ciety where  there  is  everything  to  debase  and 
i  ifuriate ;  where  there  is  nothing  but  reciprocated 
malice  and  treachery,  elimination  and  bitterness ; 
and  where  their  only  fellowship  is  the  fellowship 
of  wicked  passions,  and  where  the  storm  of  passion 


262  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

never  passes  away:  visions  of  loveliness  have 
vanished,  and  only  these  visions  of  deformity  re- 
main. Enmity  takes  the  place  of  love ;  discord, 
of  harmony ;  curses,  of  reverence ;  and  the  proud 
vindictive  spirit  of  hell,  embittered  to  madness, 
renders  that  cruel  world  like  a  furnace  of  fire. 

We  remark  again,  there  will  be  sources  of 
misery  in  hell  arising  from  the  state  of  mind 
of  the  guilty  sufferers  themselves.  These  mental 
ingredients  are  of  various  kinds. 

One  of  them  is  their  own  wickedness.  We 
know  something  of  the  desperate  wickedness  of  the 
human  heart  in  the  present  world.  We  have  felt 
it  in  our  own  bosoms,  have  tasted  the  w^ormwood 
and  the  gall,  and  know  too  well  how  they  embit- 
ter the  fountains  of  our  joy.  We  have  seen  it  in 
in  others ;  in  the  discontent  of  the  envious,  in 
grasping  ambition,  in  infuriated  anger,  in  bitter 
malignity,  in  desponding  gloom,  and  in  the  frenzied 
maniac.  We  have  read  of  it  in  the  triumphs  ot 
power  and  cruelty,  until  we  have  sickened  at  the 
recital,  and  turned  with  horror  from  the  record 
of  pollution  and  blood.  But  we  know  little  of 
those  sources  of  wretchedness  which  are  found  in 
the  bosom  of  every  ungodly  man  in  that  wretched 
world,  where  iniquity  is  unchecked  by  the  kindly 
influences  of  social  life,  unrestrained  even  by  self- 
respect,  and  where  the  vilest  and  most  malignant 
passions  rage  in  all  their  ungoverned  fury.     The 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  263 

thought  is  not  always  present  to  our  minds,  that, 
when  men  are  at  last  abandoned  of  God,  not  only- 
are  all  the  restraints  upon  their  wickedness  taken 
off,  but  exciting  causes  are  there  brought  into 
action  by  which  it  is  fearfully  provoked  and  irri- 
tated. We  read  of  those  who  "blaspheme  the 
God  of  heaven,  and  gnaw  their  tongues  for  their 
pains."  When  the  inhabitants  of  hell,  after  all 
their  efforts  and  combinations,  find  themselves 
unable  to  resist  or  endure  their  sufferings;  how 
will  they  foam  out  their  blasphemies  against  the 
God  of  heaven  and  the  friend  of  the  saints  !  What 
flames  of  livid  enmity  will  then  be  lighted  up,  and 
how  will  they  burn  and  rage !  Many  a  man  has 
seen  enough  of  himself  to  confess  that  he  feared 
no  w^orse  hell  than  that  which  exists  within  his 
own  bosom.  But  what  a  hell  is  tJia%  where  ran- 
corous enmity  and  infuriate  malevolence  break  out 
in  such  frenzied  violence  that  none  shall  quench 
them ! 

Another  of  these  ingredients  will  be  the  mourn- 
ful disappointment  of  the  sufferers.  They  must 
now  realize  w^hat  perhaps  they  did  not  once  be- 
lieve ;  they  must  now  suffer  that  which  they  se- 
cretly hoped  to  escape ;  they  now  find  that  intol- 
erable which  they  once  trifled  with  and  made 
up  their  minds  to  endure.  Instead  of  being  too 
good  to  perish,  as  they  once  thought,  they  now 
find  they  are  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction. 


264:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST, 

This  is  one  of  the  bitter  ingredients  in  their  cup. 
What  defeat,  what  overwhelming  reverse  of  ex- 
pectation, when  they  see  all  their  hopes  ship- 
wrecked, and  they  themselves  launched  out  on 
the  burning  lake  I 

There  will  also  be  that  deep  sense  of  shame 
which  will  make  the  proud  and  aspiring  spirit  of  in- 
corrigible rebellion  stoop.  Men  can  suffer,  if  they 
may  suffer  alone,  and  no  eye  looks  in  upon  them 
to  detect  the  cause  and  expose  the  shame  of  their 
sufferings.  Many  a  man  has  taken  refuge  in  the 
wildernessj  and  even  in  the  grave,  in  order  to 
shield  himself  from  reproach.  It  is  not  improba- 
ble that  wicked  men  will  suffer  quite  as  much  from 
the  shame,  as  from  the  pain  of  their  punishment. 
They  will  "  awake  to  shame  and  everlasting  con- 
tempt." Their  earthly  honors  were  laid  aside  at 
the  grave.  Their  true  character  will  then  be 
known,  and  all  their  wickedness  exposed ;  and 
what  wonder  if  they  are  despised,  and  become 
the  objects  of  universal  derision  and  contempt  ? 
God  himself  says  "  he  will  laugh  at  their  calamity, 
and  mock  when  their  fear  cometh."  The  Scrip- 
tures instruct  us  that  "  the  righteous  also  shall  see 
and  laugh  at  them."  Their  associates  in  wicked- 
ness, and  devils  shall  scoff  and  exult  over  them, 
and  the  universe  unite  in  turning  their  gloiy  into 
shame. 

Nor  is  there  any  doubt  that  their  suffering  will 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.         265 

be  greatly  aggravated  hy  fear.  Fear  is  a  terrific 
passion  when  once  it  takes  deep  hold  of  the  human 
mind.  In  that  dreadful  world  "  terror  will  take 
hold  on  them  as  waters,  and  fear  will  come  upon 
them  as  desolation."  They  were  afraid  when  they 
came  to  the  bed  of  death,  and  grew  pale  and  trem- 
bled. They  quaked  with  fear  when  they  heard 
the  archangel's  voice,  and  stood  before  the  tSon  of 
Man  in  judgment.  And  now,  when  the  gulf  of 
perdition  yawns,  and  every  object  that  meets  their 
eye,  aftd  every  sound  that  falls  upon  their  ear  fills 
them  with  dismay ;  how  do  all  faces  gather  pale- 
ness because  the  day  of  wrath  is  come,  and  with 
what  fearful  forebodings  do  they  leap  into  the 
bottomless  pit ! 

There  will  also  be  bitter  remorse  of  conscience^ 
and  with  nothing  to  assuage  the  agony  of  its  accu- 
sations. There  will  be  a  deep  sense  of  black  and 
damning  guilt  on  the  soul.  Remorse  with  all  its 
vipers  stings  the  guilty  sufferer,  and  hangs  upon 
his  bleeding  heart  like  the  never-dying  worm. 
The  guilty  sinner  is  his  own  tormentor,  while  his 
restless  conscience  hurries  him,  'alternately  dis- 
tracted by  terror  and  remoi*se.  '  Deeds  long  since 
done  rise  up  before  him  in  new  and  irresistible 
horrors.  The  darkness  of  hell  cannot  hide  them, 
nor  its  flames  burn  them  out  of  his  memory.  He 
lies  down  in  his  shame,  and  his  confusion  covers 
him. 

vor   rr.  12 


2GC  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Those  poignant  regreU\  also,  that  the  day  of 
mercy  is  past,  and  that  they  are  shut  up  in  hell ; 
how  will  these  aggravate  their  woes!  There 
shall  be  mourning  then.  There  "  shall  be  weeping 
and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,"  when  they 
see  what  they  have  lost,  and  what  they  must 
endure.     Most  truly  will  that  be  a  world  of  tears. 

And  besides  these,  they  wjll  be  overwhelmed 
with  ceaseless  despair.  Ilope^  that  casts  a  smile 
even  upon  the  brow  of  sorrow ;  that  sweet  lenitive, 
that  bright  star  in  the  darkest  night,  rises«not  on 
their  dark  eternity.  Hopes  have  perished  which 
can  never  return.  That  single  sentence,  uttered 
at  the  final  consummation,  "  Depart  ye  cursed  into 
everlasting  fire,"  seals  their  doom,  and  leaves  them 

"  There  to  converse  with  everlasting  groans, 
Unrespited,  unpitied,  unrelieved, 
Ages  of  hopeless  end." 

Myriads  and  myriads  of  ages  will  have  come  and 
gone,  and  "  he  who  made  them  will  not  have  mercy 
on  them,  and  he  who  formed  them  will  show  them 
no  favor." 

The  last  thought  we  suggest  on  this  part  of  our 
subject  therefore  is,  that  it  is  the  great  God  him- 
self'who  is  the punisher.  We  know  not  how  he  pun- 
ishes, exce2:)t  as  we  know  something  of  his  nature, 
and  see  how  he  sometimes  punishes  in  the  present 
world,  and  what  engines  of  wrath  he  often  employs 
to  execute  his  displeasure.     Famine,  fire,  plague, 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  267 

sword,  earthquake,  flood,  volcano,  and  every  in- 
strument of  destruction  have  already  been  sum- 
moned to  the  work  of  fulfilling  his  purposes  of  jus- 
tice. "  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Living  God."  His  wrath  is  infinite  and 
eternal  as  his  love,  and  omnipotent  as  his  power. 
They  are  terrific  descriptions  of  it  which  we  find 
in  the  Bible.  It  is  called  his  ^^  fierce  anger,"  the 
'-^fierceness  of  his  anger,"  the  ^''poioer  of  his  anger," 
and  the  "  hurning  of  his  anger."  Wicked  men  had 
better  array  against  themselves  all  the  principali- 
ties and  powers  in  the  universe,  than  throw  them- 
selves into  the  hands  of  such  a  punisher.  When 
the  omnipotent  and  angry  God  undertakes  to  'pun- 
isli ;  he  will  convince  the  universe  that  he  does  not 
gird  himself  for  the  work  of  retribution  in  vain. 
He  has  access  to  all  the  avenues  of  distress  in  the 
corporeal  frame,  and  all  the  inlets  to  agony  in  the 
intellectual  constitution,  and  he  will  cast  "  both 
hody  and  soul  into  hell."  He  himself  has  told  us 
that  he  "  will  show  his  wrath,  and  make  his  power 
hnown^  in  the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction." 
Terrible  will  be  that  wrath  and  power  which  he  thus 
sets  himself  to  show  and  make  'known!  O  who 
shall  tell  what  it  is  to  be  lost  and  damned  forever ! 

"  What  harp  of  boundless,  deep,  exhaustless  woe, 
Shall  utter  forth  the  groanings  of  the  damned, 
And  sing  the  obsequies  of  wicked  souls, 
And  wail  their  plunge  in  the  eternal  fire !" 


268  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Sucli  is  the  destruction  inflicted  on  all  impeni- 
tent men.  Such  is  the  dreadful  recompense  of  sin, 
and  such  the  everlasting  triumphs  of  law  and  jus- 
tice. We  feel  that  this  is  an  awful  subject,  and 
that  these  are  fearful  thoughts.  We  ask  ourselves, 
Is  it  right  that  any  of  God's  creatures  should 
thus  perish  ?  Can  such  a  sentence  ever  be  inflict- 
ed by  a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness ; 
and  is  he  glorious  in  executing  it  to  the  uttermost  ? 
On  this  grave  question  the  following  thoughts  de- 
serve' consideration  . 

1.  In  tlie  first  place,  we  are  free  to  confess  that 
it  puts  in  requisition  all  our  confidence  in  God 
in  order  to  justify  and  approve  this  procedure  of 
Ms  government.  It  becomes  us  to  be  cautious 
and  slow  in  questioning  the  equity  and  good- 
ness of  anything  which  God  performs.  That  he 
does  execute  this  sentence,  we  have  just  as  much 
reason  to  believe,  as  to  believe  that  the  Bible  is 
his  word.  We  must  fall  back  upon  hlanh  infidelity 
unless  we  believe  this  truth ;  and  then  where  do 
we  fall,  and  what  catastrophe  do  we  meet  with? 
Yet  we  may  not  affirm  there  is  no  perplexity  in 
contemplating  this  stern  feature  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment. It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  smat- 
terers  in  theology  have  treated  it  lightly  ;  nor  that 
declamatory  zeal  exhausts  itself  in  these  affecting 
denunciations  without  weighing  its  words,  or  sit- 
ting in  judgment  upon  its  own  spirit;  nor  that 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  269 

fair  and  candid  minds  have  regarded  it  with  em- 
barrassment. It  must  be  more  than  a  superficial 
view,  or  a  ti'aditionary  belief,  or  an  instantaneous 
decision  that  satisfies  on  such  a  question.  Nothing 
is  more  obvious  than  that  Jesus  Christ  can  do  no 
wrong.  The  whole  universe  bears  testimony  to 
the  excellence  of  his  charactei*.  If  such  a  beina: 
as  the  ever-blessed  and  glorious  Saviour  has 
formed  the  purpose  thus  to  punish  his  incorrigible 
enemies;  he  has  not  formed  it  without  calm  fore- 
thought, and  cool  dispassionate  deliberation.  It 
is  too  important  a  measure  to  be  the  result  of  a 
wild  and  visionary  mind,  or  to  be  hastily  adopt- 
ed; nor  has  the  Son  of  God  hastily  adopted  it. 
And  we  may  well  be  satisfied  with  this  single 
thought.  Had  I  any  embarrassment  in  contem- 
plating it,  this  one  thought  would  dissipate  the 
last  shade  of  mistrust.  God  is  light,  and  in  him  is 
no  darkness  at  all.  The  darkness  is  in  our  own 
minds.  There  must  be  the  best  reasons  for  this 
judicial  sentence,  else  would  it  never  go  forth  from 
the  lips  of  the  God-Man  Mediator.  We  cannot 
weigh  this  grave  subject  as  his  infinite  mind  weighs 
it.  We  cannot  comprehend  the  claims  of  his  pu- 
nitive justice;  nor  measure  the  ill-desert  of  sin; 
nor  appreciate  the  great  and  everlasting  interests, 
which  present  themselves  to  his  thoughts,  when 
he  thus  determines  the  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
Oar  minds  have  also  a  wrong  bias,  from  the  fact 


270  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

that  we  ourselves  are  sinners.  The  condemned 
prisoner  at  the  har  is  not  the  man  to  determine 
the  punishment  his  crime  deserves ;  tliat  belongs 
to  the  majesty  and  rectitude  of  the  law.  I  look 
up  to  the  throne  of  Judgment,  and  see  \\\\o  that 
great  and  glorious  Being  is  that  occupies  it,  and 
feel  the  force  of  the  demand,  "  Shall  not  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  do  right  f  Take  away  the  infinite 
perfection  of  the  Judge,  and  I  confess  I  look  down 
upon  that  world  of  darkness  with  horror.  I  shud- 
der over  it  as  I  shudder  over  some  deep  and  dark 
abyss  which  is  a  perfect  anomaly  in  nature.  But 
when  I  think  of  Him^  there  is  a  bright  side  to  this 
dark  cloud  ;  there  are  divine  glories  reflected  even 
from  those  walls  of  fire.  They  compose  parts  of  a 
great  and  glorious  design  which  has  God  for  its 
Author,  and  which  must  therefore  be  wise  and 
harmonious.  To  the  cavils  of  the  complaining,  and 
the  embarrassments  of  every  honest  mind,  the 
voice  of  Wisdom  utters  the  words,  '•  Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God  !" 

2.  Tn  the  next  place,  from  what  we  know  of 
Christ,  we  have  the  peifect  assurance  that  lie  talms 
no  (leliglit  in  sin  and  misery.  We  have  seen  who 
he  is,  and  have  traced  a  fiiint  outline  of  his  char- 
acter and  history,  from  the  glory  he  had  with  the 
Father  before  the  world  was,  to  his  incarnation ; 
and  from  his  incarnation  to  the  cross,  and  to  his 
ascension  and  return  to  his  native  heavens.   There 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  £71 

is  no  being  iu  the  universe  whose  heart  is  so  fall 
of  tenderness  as  his.  He  "hears  the  ravens  when 
they  cry,"  and  the  "  young  lions  when  they  wander 
for  lack  of  meat."  He  would  not  inflict  one  need- 
less pang,  even  upon  a  worm.  His  tears  over 
Jerusalem  and  his  prayer  on  the  cross  assure  us 
that  he  would  not  needlessly  wound  his  bitterest 
enemy;  much  more  that  he  would  not,  from 
sheer  delight  in  misery,  consign  him  to  everlast- 
ing burning. 

The  princij^les  on  which  he  punishes  tlie  wicked 
are  not  always  appreciated.  If  proud  and  over- 
bearing man,  so  self-complacent  in  his  little  brief 
authority,  did  not  so  often  punish  from  impulse, 
caprice,  and  malignity;  he  would  have  a  ])etter 
opinion  of  the  great  Judge  of  the  universe  than  to 
admit  the  thought  that  he  punishes  from  want  of 
tenderness.  Happiness  is  not  the  greatest  good, 
nor  is  misery  the  greatest  evil.  If  they  had  been, 
such  lessons  would  never  have  been  read  to  u.«,  as 
have  not  been  washed  out  by  the  waters  of  the 
deluge,  nor  burnt  out  by  the  flames  of  Sodom,  nor 
obliterated  from  the  cross  of  Christ.  There  would 
have  been  no  gain  to  the  universe  from  tlie  ago- 
nies of  that  mighty  Sufferer,  if  the  woes  of  Calvary 
were  thrown  into  the  scale  simply  to  hold  an  even 
balance  between  the  claims  of  human  happiness 
and  misery. 

We  ourselves  often  have  strong  convictions  of 


272  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

tlie  worth  of  princijole.  Men  suffer  for  the  sake  of 
principle ;  torrents  of  blood  have  flowed  for  prin- 
ciple; and  where  the  principles  of  truth  and 
righteousness  have  prevailed,  they  are  worth  the 
saciifice.  There  is  no  nobler  spectacle  than  where 
a  eood  man  consents  to  make  every  saci'ifice  for 
principle.  The  happiness  that  is  sacrificed  and 
the  suffering  that  it  costs,  are  of  minor  account. 
Daniel  was  tempted  to  lie  to  the  God  of  heaven; 
or,  in  the  event  of  his  refusal,  to  be  cast  into  the 
burning  fiery  furnace.  And  who  does  not  see  that 
his  unbending  adherence  to  the  jji'wcf^^Ie-s  of  truth 
and  rectitude  was  worth  all  the  suffering  which 
Ba]>ylon's  furnace,  seven  times  heated,  conld  in- 
flict? When  once  it  is  considered  how  much  suf- 
fering has  been  endured  in  the  world  for  i-ight- 
eouyuess'  sake ;  and  how  much  is  still  endured  for 
the  sake  of  invigoi-ating  the  strength  of  moral 
principle  in  good  men ;  and  how  often  they  them- 
selves have  gratefully  confessed  that  to  have 
gained  the  victory  over  a  single  besetting  sin,  and 
to  have  made  some  sensible  advance  in  the  divine 
life,  is  worth  all  their  suffering,  twice  told ;  the 
conviction  must  be  strong  on  our  minds  that  there 
are  higher  intei-ests  to  be  consulted  by  the  divine 
government  than  the  mere  happiness  or  misery 
of  its  subjects.  In  the  final  issue,  there  must  be 
no  connivance  at  wickedness,  ])e  the  sacrifice  what 
it  may. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  273 

It  is  because  this  trutli  is  so  important  that  the 
divine  government  is  penal.  Nor  does  it  follow, 
because  the  penalty  is  executed.,  the  great  Lawgiver 
and  Judge  is  not  kind.  Compassion  that  is  supe- 
rior to  rectitude  is  weakness,  is  effeminacy,  is  sin. 
If  the  question  of  sending  the  incorrigible  to  hell 
were  left  to  his  compassion  and  tenderness  only, 
they  Avould  relent;  never  could  he  inflict  that 
exterminating  sentence.  But  his  rectitude  never 
changes.  He  cannot  do  "  evil  that  good  may  come." 
His  tenderness  and  compassion  are  not  lawless,  but 
under  the  guidance  of  his  rectitude.  He  cannot  do 
wrong,  even  to  save  immortal  beings  from  ever- 
lasting perdition. 

And  who  does  not  perceive  that  he  is  not  the 
less  amiable  and  glorious,  because  his  love  and 
tenderness  are  governed  by  his  rectitude  ?  Is  not 
the  sentence  that  banishes  the  wicked  to  hell  just 
what  it  should  be  ;  a  respecter  of  principles,  rather 
than  of  the  persons  of  men  ;  an  attachment  to  law 
rather  than  to  the  transgressor?  Does  it  not  de- 
serve our  confidence  ?  and  does  not  he  deserve  it 
who  sits  upon  the  throne  ?  The  suffering  is  fear- 
ful, but  the  rectitude  is  glorious. 

3.  There  is  another  view  of  the  subject  in  which 
a  class  of  minds  may  perhaps  take  a  deeper  inter- 
est. We  afiirm  that  it  is  an  expression  of  the 
8avioiir\s  goodness  thus  to  punish  all  his  incorri- 
gible creatures.    When  opposers  of  future  punish- 

12* 


274  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

ment  make  their  appeal  to  the  Saviour's  goodness^ 
they  practise  deception  upon  their  own  minds. 
Has  goodness  no  tenderness  for  the  obedient? 
Does  law  exhaust  all  its  tenderness  for  the  guilty, 
and  has  it  none  left  for  the  vii'tuous?  Must  not 
the  divine  goodness  aim  at  the  highest  and  most 
comprehensive  good  ;  and  can  it  be  shown  that 
this  is  consulted  by  allowing  the  lawless  and  ob- 
durate to  go  unpunished  ?  Would  not  this  be  an 
impeachment  of  goodness;  and  does  not  mercy 
revolt  from  this  inconsiderate  and  j'eckless  con 
nivance  at  sin  ?  AVhen  God  caused  "all  his  good- 
ness to  pass  liefore  Moses,"  one  expression  of  it 
was  in  the  words,  "  He  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty."  In  that  memoi'able  song  of  the  Psalmist, 
wdiich  celebrates  the  divine  mercy^  are  found  such 
thoughts  as  these:  "To  him  who  smote  Egypt ;'''' 
to  him  who  '"'' overtlireiD  l^haraolh  and  Ids  host  in 
the  Red  Sea;"  to  him  who  "smote  great  kings  and 
slew  famous  kings;"  for  his  "mercy  endureth  for- 
ever !"  His  mercy  was  illustrated  by  these  acts 
of  his  justice;  it  was  a  sacrifice  of  the  less  to  the 
greater ;  it  was  the  deliverance  of  Israel  that  was 
one  inducement  to  cut  off  her  enemies.  Just  as  it 
is  mercy  to  the  living  that  the  murderer  should 
not  live,  it  is  mercy  to  the  righteous  that,  in  the 
final  ai'rangements  of  God's  government,  the  wicked 
should  perish.  There  are  other  sources  of  happi- 
ness infinitely  dear  to  Christ,  beside  those  which 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  275 

might  flow  from  unrestrained  and  impimished 
wickedness. 

We  may  not  place  so  much  confidence  in  this 
view  of  the  subject  as  in  some  others;  yet  is  it 
one  which  no  benevolent  mind  can  disregard. 
E\'en  if  the  law  of  expediency  were  the  great  law 
of  the  divine  government,  it  would  demand  the 
destruction  of  the  ungodly.  It  would  not  be  xirise 
to  jeopard  and  destroy  the  peace  and  safety  of  all 
virtuous  minds,  through  interminable  ages,  for  the 
sake  of  impunity  to  crime.  The  wicked  must  go 
to  their  own  place ;  they  are  in  league  with  the 
devil  and  his  angels,  and  may  not  have  their  dwell- 
ing within  the  heavenly  city.  They  are  not  fitted 
fur  it,  but  for  their  own  chosen  associates,  and 
chosen  hell.  The  Son  of  Man  must  "send  his 
angels  and  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things 
that  offendy  And  the  universe  will  stand  in  awe. 
It  will  be  an  awful  and  majestic  deed,  when  he 
who  hung  on  Calvary  shall  cast  those  who  have 
trodden  his  blood  under  their  feet  into  the  "fur- 
nace of  fire,  where  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth  ;"  but  it  will  be  a 
glorious  deed,  and  the  only  and  last  resoi-t  by 
which  his  own  throne  and  tlie  tranquillity  of  his 
obedient  subjects  can  be  secured. 

4.  The  fourth  and  last  thought  by  Avhich  the 
glory  of  Christ  in  this  destruction  is  illustrated,  is 
that  it  is  required  hij  justice.     This  is  the  true 


276  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

ground  on  which  the  Scriptures  place  this  great 
sul)ject.  The  government  of  the  world  belongs  to 
God ;  it  is  a  government  of  law ;  and  is  a  perfect 
government.  The  precepts  and  prohibitions  of  it 
are  equitable  and  right ;  and  the  penalty  is  com- 
mensurate with  the  ill-desert  of  transgression. 

Justice  gives  man  his  due.  It  is  essential  to 
■punitive  justice^  that  the  penalty  of  ti'ansgi-ession 
be  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  of  the  offence. 
Justice,  pui-e,  equal  justice^  inflicts  penalty  which 
neither  goes  beyond,  nor  ftiUs  short  of  the  offend- 
er's ill-desert. 

Such  justice  as  this  is  one  of  the  essential  and 
immutable  properties  of  the  divine  nature.  God 
not  only  may  be  just,  but  must  be  just;  he  not 
only  may  punish,  l>ut  must  punish.  He  sits  on  the 
throne  of  eternal  justice.  He  iimst  forever  hate 
sin,  and  forever  be  disposed  to  punish  it,  and  ac- 
tually punish  it  according  to  its  desert ;  else  is  he 
no  longer  just. 

The  consciences  of  men  respond  to  this  repre- 
sentation. They  are  conscious  of  having  violated 
God's  law,  and  are  equally  conscious  that  this  ren- 
ders them  deserving  of  punishment.  No  argu- 
ments ai-e  necessary  to  establish  the  connecting 
bond  between  sin  and  punishment.  No  excuses, 
no  reasoning,  no  theory,  no  hopes,  no  refuge  can 
relieve  the  transgressor's  mind  from  this  seci-et  ap- 
prehension.    His  great  Maker  has  so  constituted 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  277 

him,  that  he  is  looking  out  for  the  ministers  of 
vengeance — "  a  fire  not  blown  consumes  him  ;"  the 
"shaking  of  a  leaf "  fills  his  mind  with  ominous 
forebodings,  because  he  "  hnoiv-s  the  just  judgment 
of  God,  and  that  they  who  do  such  things  are  wor- 
thy of  death." 

When  therefore  God  announces  himself  in  his 
'VA'ord  to  be  fxjust  God^  he  makes  his  appeal  to  the 
sinner's  conscience.  When  the  sinner  reads  the 
curses  that  are  written  in  his  book,  he  cannot  set 
aside  this  condemning  power  and  sentence.  And 
when  we  come  before  him  to  vindicate  this  sen- 
tence, and  to  show  him,  that  the  righteous  Judge 
18  glorious  in  executing  it  to  the  uttermost ;  our  ap- 
peal is  to  his  own  sense  of  justice^  nor  do  we  go 
beyond  the  resistless  convictions  of  his  own  con- 
science, when  we  affirm  that  he  deserves  punish- 
ment. He  deserves  it  wherever  it  exists  and  as 
long  as  it  exists.  We  only  ask  that  God  may  not 
be  disrobed  of  the  honors  of  \lv^  justice.  We  dis- 
honor him  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we  suppose  him  to 
be  indifferent  to  the  destiny  of  wicked  men ;  or, 
if  on  the  other,  Ave  suppose  him  to  be  under  the 
influence  of  those  turbulent,  ungoverned,  furious 
passions  which  cannot  be  gratified  by  anything 
ghoit  of  making  them  as  miserable  as  it  is  possible 
to  make  them.  But  is  it  any  dishonor  to  him  that 
"  he  cannot  look  on  sin  ;"  that  "  to  him  belonsreth 
vengeance  and  recompense ;"  and  that  he  is  clothed 


278  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

with  rigliteousuess  as  a  garment  ?  The  true  and 
impartial  exercise  of  his  justice  is  founded  on  the 
highest  reason,  and  su])ported  by  the  strongest 
virtue.  Wicked  men  have  done  evil  and  nothing 
but  evil ;  and  therefore  they  are  ill-deserving. 
The  time  will  never  come  when  these  sufferers 
will  cease  to  be  conscious  of  their  ill-desert.  While 
therefore  the  divine  justice  leaves  them  without 
hope,  it  is  Justice;  and  because  it  is  justice,  we 
may  not  fault  it.  It  would  not  be  justice,  if  they 
did  not  deserve  it ;  and  because  they  deserve  it, 
the  justice  is  glorious.  It  would  not  be  justice  if 
they  were  punished  beyond  their  ill-desert;  this 
would  be  injustice^  and  there  is  no  fear  of  this. 
They  will  suffer  because  they  deserve  it ;  they  will 
always  suffer  because  they  will  always  deserve  it ; 
and  because  they  forever  deserve  it,  the  justice 
that  inflicts  it  will  be  forever  glorious.  The  only 
reason  why  their  punishment  will  be  everlasting, 
is  that  their  ill-desert  is  everlasting. 

Such  is  the  destruction  of  the  ungodly,  and  such 
the  considerations  which  show  that  Christ  is  glo- 
rious in  inflicting  it.  We  are  sensible  that  it  is  no 
easy  matter  to  persuade  men  of  these  truths. 
They  often  wonder  at  the  adoring  approbation 
with  which  holy  beings  are  represented  in  the 
Scriptures  as  expressing  toward  these  acts  of  God's 
judicial  power.  When  Pharaoh  and  his  host  were 
cast  into  the  Red  Sea,  Moses  gave  Israel  the  song. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  279 

"  Thy  light  hand,  O  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in 
power.  Who  is  like  unto  thee  among  the  gods  ? 
Who  is  like  nnto  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fear- 
ful in  praises,  doing  wonders  ?"  When  the  Psalm- 
ist sets  forth  the  wickedness  and  the  peidition  of 
the  ungodly,  his  language  is,  "The  righteous  shall 
rejoice  when  he  seeth  the  vengeance."  "  Zion 
heard  and  was  glad,  and  the  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem rejoiced,  because  of  thy  judgments,  O  Lord!" 
When  the  seven  angels  appear  with  the  seven  last 
plagues,  the  saints  are  represented  with  hai-ps  in 
their  hands,  and  singing,  "  Great  and  marvellous 
are  thy  works.  Lord,  God  Almighty;  just  and  true 
are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints  !"  When  mystical 
Babylon  fell,  the  high  command  was  issued,  "  Re- 
joice over  her  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  Apostles 
and  Martyrs,  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her !" 
It  was  when  the  Apostle  John  was  carried  away 
in  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness,  and  there  saw  "a 
w^oman  upon  a  scarlet-colored  beast ;"  and  he  saw 
her  "  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,"  and  Avith 
the  blood  of  the  martyi's  of  Jesus,  that  he  also 
"  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having 
great  power,  and  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his 
glory ;  and  he  cried  mightily  with  a  strong  voice, 
aying,  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen !" 
And  then  he  heard  "  a  great  voice  of  much  people 
in  lieaven^  saying,  Alleluiaii  !  Salvation,  and 
glory,  and   honor,  and  power  unto  the  Lord  our 


280  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

God ;  for  true  and  righteous  are  liis  judgments ! 
And  again  they  said  Alleluiaii  !  and  her  s-moke 
rose  up  forever  and  ever !"  Nothing  is  more  ob- 
vious, than  that  if  we  have  emotions  diverse  from 
these,  Ave  are  either  in  great  darkness,  or  our  ha- 
bitual state  of  mind  is  not  heavenly.  The  charac- 
ter of  Christ,  as  the  liewarder  deserves  our  admi- 
ration and  praise  as  well  as  theirs.  If  we  are  dis- 
satisfied with  this  essential  attribute  of  his  nature, 
it  is  because  we  have  a  state  of  mind  that  is  dis- 
satisfied with  Mm.  To  look  upon  his  justice  as 
odious,  is  to  look  on  sin  with  indifterence ;  to  re- 
gard his  justice  as  hard  and  cruel,  is  to  take  the 
part  of  his  enemies.  Beware  of  this  state  of  moral 
feeling.  No  man  can  sit  down  with  the  saints  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  who  cannot  sing  the  song  of 
Moses.,  as  well  as  the  song  of  tlie  Lamb.  There  is 
a  wide  dificrence  between  the  enemies  of  God  and 
his  friends.  His  enemies  hate  his  justice,  with  im- 
placable hatred ;  his  fi-iends  approve  and  adore  it. 
In  the  view  of  his  enemies,  it  is  a  blemish  in  his 
character ;  in  the  view  of  his  friends,  it  is  one  of 
its' glories.  Stei-liug  virtue  is  not  the  enemy  of 
justice.  No  man  can  from  the  heart  accept  God's 
pai'doning  mercy,  until  he  approves  his  condemn- 
ing justice.  It  is  not  possible  to  perceive  and  ap- 
preciate the  grace  of  God  in  saving,  if  you  neither 
perceive,  nor  appreciate  his  justice  in  punishing. 
Most  men  live  as  though  there  were  no  such 


DESTRUCTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES.  281 

state  of  misery  in  the  universe  as  that  which  we 
have  described.  Great  mnltitndes,  and  among  them 
some  professing  godliness,  do  not  feel  satisfied 
when  they  read  or  hear  anything  of  the  gospel 
but  its  glad  tidings.  Christ  iijcarnate,  Christ  sin- 
less, Chi'ist  commiserating  and  healing,  Christ 
dying,  Christ  rising,  ascending,  reigning, — these 
are  topics  which  interest  them.  And  well  they 
may;  would  to  God  that  they  interested  them 
more  intensely !  But  Christ  on  the  throne  of 
Judgment,  Christ  the  Redeemer,  Christ  uttering 
and  executing  the  sentence,  "  De;paH  ye  cursed  into 
everlasting  fire  ])re^ared  for  the  Devil  and  his 
angels  f""  this  is  a  manifestation  of  his  gloiy  which 
they  would  rather  have  concealed.  It  is  too  over- 
whelming to  be  real ;  they  wish  it  were  not  true, 
and  wish  it  suppressed  even  if  it  be.  I  cannot 
but  think  this  is  one  of  the  devices  of  Satan  to 
destr#)^  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  not  more  "  a  faith- 
ful saying,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners,"  than  that  he  is  glorious  in  the 
everlasting  destruction  of  those  who  neglect  this 
salviition.  Never  would  he  have  died  on  Calvary 
if  he  did  not  mean  to  vindicate  his  higli  claims  as 
the  righteous  Judge.  His  death  would  have  an- 
swered no  valuable  purpose  if  incori'igible  offend- 
ers go  unpunished,  and  if  it  only  served  to  pro- 
claim impunity  to  crime. 

O  ye  who  are  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 


282  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

the  bonds  of  iniquity,  who  are  the  prisoners  of  his 
justice,  and  for  a  few  short  hours  the  possessors 
of  hope,  will  you  not  be  persuaded  to  "flee  to  the 
stronghold  ?"  We  know  we  have  uttered  fearful 
truths;  perhaps  he  who  utters- them  may  be  ac- 
cused as  a  stern  prophet,  and  a  prophet  of  wi'ath 
because  he  utters  them.  We  have  uttered  them 
because,  "  knowing  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  we 
would  persuade  men."  The  world  of  lost  spirits 
is  no  idle  figment,  no  melancholy  conceit  or  inven- 
tion of  men.  And  there  is  but  one  method  of 
escape  from  it.  O  how  it  exalts  that  wondrous 
redemption  to  think  upon  the  woes  from  which  it 
delivers,  and  that  it  shows  the  way  of  escape  from 
bitter  groans  and  endless  burning !  You  are  to 
exist  eternal  ages,  and  if  it  be  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, when  it  comes  upon  you  there  will  be  no 
escape.  There  is  escape  now,  but  before  another 
sun  shall  rise,  you  may  drop  from  your  thought- 
lessness into  the  pit  of  despair.  O  thou  ci'eature 
of  guilt  and  miser}^ !  wilt  thou  not  escape  from  this 
coming  wrath  ?  A  few  more  Sabbaths  of  thought- 
lessness and  sin,  and  the  storm  will  burst.  The 
proffered  salvation  of  him  who  is  "a  just  God  and 
Saviour,"  is  in  your  hands;  and  we  demand  of 
you,  by  his  authority  and  in  his  name,  whether 
you  will  ascend  with  the  redeemed  to  heaven,  or 
whether,  with  the  devil  and  his  angels,  you  will 
make  your  bed  in  the  lake  of  fire. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHRIST   HmSELF   THE    GLORY    OF   HEAVEN". 

It  is  a  beautiful  remark  of  John  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, when  speaking  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  that 
"  the  City  had  uo  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon  to  shine  in  it."  He  had  been  describinc:  it 
as  no  uninspired  pen  could  have  described.  Death 
and  hell  had  been  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  The 
wicked  of  every  land,  and  class,  and  name,  from 
"  the  fearful  and  unbelieving"  to  "  whoremongers 
and  liars,"  had  been  doomed  to  their  own  place. 
Fear,  sorrow,  and  pain  were  among  "  the  former 
things  that  are  passed  away ;"  and  the  inspired 
narrator  was  borne  away  in  his  vision  to  "  a  great 
and  high  mountain,"  there  to  take  a  view,  and  fur- 
nish a  sketch  of  the  "  Holy  City,  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven." 

There  are  some  strong  peculiarities  in  this  de- 
scription. The  great  Architect  had  decked  that 
bright  world  with  unfading  splendor;  and  this 
apostle  was  directed  to  avail  himself  of  an  accumu- 


284  TlIK  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

latioii  of  imagery,  fitted  to  make  the  most  vivid 
impressions  of  all  tliat  is  beautiful  and  magnificent, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  convey  some  definite  in- 
struction. The  City  was  "  foursquare,"  symmetri- 
cal in  its  form,  accessible  from  all  sides,  and  on  its 
foundations  were  inscribed  "the  names  of  the 
twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lamb."  So  vast  was  it, 
that  it  could  not  be  measured  by  any  human 
standard,  but  only  "  according  to  the  measure  of 
the  Angela  It  was  adorned  with  the  most  ex- 
pressive symbols  of  unwasting  wealth  and  perpet- 
ual joy.  There  was  "no  Temple  therein,"  because 
it  was  all  temple ;  the  same  worship  pervaded  the 
whole,  and  incorporated  itself  with  every  service 
and  place.  There  was  no  sun  and  no  moon  in  it; 
there  were  brighter  lights  and  more  dazzling ;  and 
this  was  the  zenith  of  its  glory.  The  "  glory  of 
God  did  enlighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 

THEREOF." 

We  are  sensible  that  the  theme  is  above  our 
reach.  "  We  know  but  in  part."  The  indwelling 
Shekinah  is  behind  the  veil,  and  it  is  only  the 
outer  court  of  this  celestial  temple  we  are  permit- 
ted to  occupy. 

There  are  four  tlioiiglits  by  which  we  would  pre- 
sent some  illustration  of  the  truth,  that  Christ 

HIMSELF  IS  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN". 

r^         The  first  is,  that  he  is  there  the  rightful  and  ac- 
knowledged Head  of  his  redeemed  jieople.     It  is  not 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVExNf.  285 

only  one  of  Ms  glories  that  he  is  the  everhxsting 
King  of  his  church,  but  it  is  the  glory  of  that  holy 
and  happy  hhirjdoin  over  which  he  reigns.  There 
is  a  kingdom  Avhich  he  administers  as  the  Media- 
tor, which  he  will  not  administer  in  the  heavenly 
world ;  one  Avhich  is  more  extensive  than  his  re- 
deemed church,  and  which  will  continue  only  until 
the  close  of  the  final  judgment.  The  objects  of  his 
Mediation  will  then  have  been  so  far  secured,  that 
all  his  enemies  will  have  been  "put  under  his  feet," 
and  all  his  followers  gathered  into  heavenly  man- 
sions. The  day  of  grace  and  the  space  for  repent- 
ance will  have  been  terminated  ;  nothing  more  will 
remain  for  him  to  accomplish  for  the  salvation  of 
men;  and  then  he  will  "deliver  up"  the  kingdom 
which  was  delegated  to  him  over  "  all  things,"  to 
"  God  even  the  Father  that  God  may  be  all  in 
all." 

But  this  termination  of  his  raediatoi'ial  reign, 
althousfh  it  leaves  the  absolute  and  universal  su- 
premacy  in  the  hands  of  the  Eternal  Godhead, 
involves  no  dissolution  of  the  union  between  his 
divine  and  human  natures.  It  does  not  even  ter- 
minate his  priestly  office  ;  much  less  those  outward 
manifestations  of  the  invisible  Deity,  that  ai'O  so 
wondrously  and  pi'ogressivel}^  made  by  God  in 
human  nature.  "  He  that  descended  is  the  same 
also  that  ascended  far  above  all  heavens,"  forever 
retaining  his  crown  and  sceptre,  as  the  King  and 


286  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

Heiul  of  the  redeemed  universe.  "  His  dominion 
is  an  eveilasting  dominion,  wliicli  shall  not  pass 
away."  He  is  to  be  the  God-man  forever;  and  in 
this  character  he  is  to  I'eign  as  the  King  of  Zion, 
the  King  of  saints,  the  King  of  glory. 

For  successive  ages  he  has  been  preparing  him- 
self a  KINGDOM ;  now  he  is  in  complete  possession 
of  it,  and  his  crown  beams  in  all  its  splendor.  His 
ascension  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  was  his  instal- 
ment and  coronation  ;  and  then  it  was  that  herald 
angels  conducted  him  to  his  palace,  and  "  the  ever- 
lasting doors  w^ere  lifted  up  that  the  King  of  glory 
might  come  in !"  From  that  day,  he  has  been 
a  Prince  upon  his  throne,  swaying  a  sceptre  such 
as  no  earthly  monarch  ever  held,  reigning  in  im- 
mortal love  and  holiness,  perpetuating  his  tri- 
umphs, and  inviting  "  the  children  of  Zion  to  re- 
joice in  their  King."  It  is  their  unspeakable  joy 
now  to  know  that  he  is  upon  the  throne ;  but 
what  will  their  joy  become,  when  the  mystery  of 
God  shall  be  perfected ;  when  the  last  revolution 
in  this  convulsed  universe  shall  be  brought  to  its 
long  predicted  issues  ;  and  he  "  shall  reign  over  the 
house  of  Jacob  forever !" 

His  subjects  will  be  multiplied,  so  that  no  man 
can  number  them  ;  and  it  will  be  his  endui'ing  honor 
to  be  at  the  head  of  so  vast  and  holy  an  Enipire. 
They  shall  come  from  far-distnnt  lands,  and  from 
the  islands  of  the  sea ;  they  will  have  been  nur- 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  987 

tured  under  all  the  divei'sities  of  time  and  cii'cum- 
stance,  and  amid  all  the  varieties  of  intellectual 
and  moral  culture,  and  modes  and  forms  to  which 
the  different  families  of  the  church  of  God  were 
subject;  but  they  shall  be  one  in  him,  and  he 
shall  be  their  glory  and  crown. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  why  it  is  that 
"there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God." 
The  perfect  rejiose  and  safety  which  the  redeemed 
will  enjoy  in  having  Mm  for  their  Sovereign,  are 
themselves  enough  to  render  him  the  glory  of  the 
heavenly  w^orld.  In  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth,  "there  shall  be  no  more  sea  f  or,  it  will  be, 
"  as  it  were,  a  sea  of  glass  J''  Its  surftice  is  un- 
ruffled. Not  a  ripple  stirs  it.  Nothing  overlays 
it  but  the  pure  light  and  fragrant  breath  of 
heaven.  Storms  and  tempests  never  gather  over 
those  tranquil  regions.  The  changeful  winds  of 
passion  are  still.  Nor  are  human  kingdoms  nor 
human  hopes  ever  engulphed  under  the  reign  of 
this  Prince  of  peace.  Despotism  and  anai-chy 
have  done  their  work  in  this  nether  woild.  The 
"nations  of  the  saved"  now  rest  under  the  equita- 
ble monarchy  of  heaven,  whose  laws  and  piinci- 
ples  shall  never  })e  repealed  nor  abated,  but  remain 
in  full  force  and  blessedness  to  all  eternity. 

Glorious  supremacy  and  glorious  world  which 
can  boast  of  such  a  Sovei-eign !  There  will  be 
spectacles  of  admiration  in  his  heavenly  kingdom, 


288  THE  GLOKY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  scenes  of  splendor  such  as  mortal  eyes  never 
beheld ;  bright  and  embellished  minds  will  be 
there,  angelic  and  human,  shining  in  all  the  blend- 
ed and  perfected  beauties  of  holiness;  but  they 
will  be  like  tapers  under  the  splendors  of  his 
throne.  So  long  as  the  redeemed  were  "  present 
in  the  body  they  were  absent  from  the  Lord." 
The  best  of  them  had  very  imperfect  views,  and 
"saw  through  a  glass  darkly,"  They  could  do 
little  more,  even  in  their  brightest  houis,  than 
stand  on  the  shoi'e  of  that  ocean  of  light  and  love, 
and  exclaim,  "  O  the  depth !"  But  they  have 
come  now  to  Mount  Zion,  where  the  King  of  glory 
unfolds  his  loveliness,  and  they  see  him  without  a 
veil.  And  if,  during  their  pilgrimage  in  this  dark 
world,  they  looked  to  hirn  as  their  chief  joy,  and 
nothing  charmed  them  like  his  beauty ;  what  must 
be  their  delighted  and  I'apturous  admiration  of 
him  in  that  world  where  they  have  no  need  of  the 
sun,  or  of  the  moon  to  shine  on  it,  because  "  the 
glory  of  God  enlightens  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the 
light  tliei'eof ''  Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  O 
Christ!  V/iio  would  not  take  thy  cross  and  be- 
come a  partul^er  in  thy  humiliation,  if  he  may 
thus  become  partaker  in  thy  exaltation  and  glory ! 
To  be  made  "kings  and  priests  unto  God  even  his 
FatheJ",  and  live  and  reign  with  him;"  to  ]>e  "fel- 
low-heirs with  lii;n  of  the  same  kingdom,"  sit 
"down  on  his  thr<»iie,"  and  "enter  into  his  joy;" 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  289 

what  a  lieaven  is  this,  and  what  else  is  it  but  to 
learn  by  blessed  experience  that  Christ  himself  is 
its  glory ! 

We  illustrate  this  truth,  in  the  next  place,  by 
the  thought  that  Christ  hmiself  is  the  Authoo'  and 
DispPRser  of  all  the  hlessedne'SS  of  the  heavenly 
world.  Its  "  Builder  and  Maker"  is  God.  His 
name  is  inscribed  on  every  page  of  its  history. 
"  I  go,"  said  he  to  his  early  followers,  "  I  go  to 
prerpare  a  place  for  you."  There  is  no  scene  of 
loveliness  or  splendor  there;  nothing  to  delight 
the  mind,  cheer  the  heart,  or  regale  the  senses, 
refined  and  purified  as  they  will  be  for  immor- 
tality, but  owes  its  loveliness  and  splendor  to  him. 
If  the  skies  are  genial,  it  is  because  he  has  "  spread 
them  out  as  a  molten  looking-glass."  If  there  is 
no  sickness,  nor  infirmity,  nor  decay,  nor  death, 
it  is  because  he  has  shut  them  without  the  walls, 
and  has  made  its  inhabitants  immortal.  If  no 
heart  is  wrung  with  disappointment  and  anguish, 
and  no  countenance  dejected,  and  no  eye  heavy 
with  sorrow,  or  dimmed  with  tears ;  it  is  because 
"  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  leads 
them,  and  God  wipes  away  all  tears  fi-om  their 
eyes."  If  there  is  no  serpent  to  sting  and  no 
tempter  to  ensnare,  it  is  because  he  has  crushed 
the  serpent's  head.  If  the  wicked  there  cease  from 
troubling,  it  is  because  he  does  not  allow  anything 
to  enter  that  defileth.     It  is  his  own  palace  ;  and 

VOL.  11.  13 


290  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

lest  any  invade  or  hurt  it,  he  himself  is  its  ever- 
lasting Warder. 

Its  redeemed  iiiJiahitants  are  all  the  children  of 
his  power  and  grace.  It  is  not  their  work  by 
which  they  have  found  access  to  that  glorious 
world,  but  his.  The  design  of  bringing  them  there 
originated  with  him,  and  was  completed  by  him 
in  whose  blood  they  have  washed  their  robes,  and 
made  them  white.  Take  away  Christ  from  heaven, 
and  there  are  no  hopes,  no  promises,  no  heaven 
itself  for  man.  They  were  naturally  fallen  and 
apostate ;  but  he  saved  them  by  the  washing  of 
regeneration  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Their  exalted  and  holy  character  was  formed  by 
him,  and  formed  for  eternity  and  heaven.  It  was 
the  offspring  of  his  grace  when  it  was  cradled  here 
on  earth.  His  hand  burst  the  bandages  of  its  in- 
fancy, and  his  voice  first  cheered  it  in  its  onward 
progress  to  immortal  manhood.  And  now,  in  its 
perfection  and  richness,  who  is  its  recognized  au- 
thor and  dispenser,  if  not  he  who  presents  it  "  not 
having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing !"  iVll 
the  varieties  of  its  excellence,  mingling  its  most 
exalted  with  its'  humblest  emotions,  its  strongest 
lights  with  those  that  are  the  most  delicate,  its 
angelic  purity  with  its  human  loveliness,  are  to 
be  attributed  to  him  who  has  thus  "clothed  his 
church  with  the  garments  of  salvation,  and  cov- 
ered her  with  the  robe  of  risrhteousness,  as  a  bride- 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  291 

groom   decketli    himself   with    ornaments,  and  a 
bride  adorneth  herself  with  her  jewels." 

The  sources  of  their  blessedness  are  all  either  in 
him,  or  from  him.  Whatever  of  God  they  there 
enjoy,  is  through  Christ  and  from  Christ.  What- 
ever of  angel  blessedness  flows  in  upon  them,  his 
hand  opens  the  channels  in  which  it  flows.  There 
are  social  joys  there ;  and  the  sacred  intercourse 
and  fellowship  of  that  immense  holy  society  are 
exalted  and  pure  because  the  bond  that  unites 
them  is  perfect  love  to  him.  There  are  remem- 
brances of  the  past,  and  personal  recognitions,  and 
endeared-  and  responsible  relationships  fondly 
dwelt  upon,  and  present  amiableness  of  character, 
and  mutual  services,  and  reciprocated  acts  of  kind- 
ness which  make  their  cup  of  joy  run  over.  All 
this,  by  sympathies  and  a  fellowship  never  till  then 
known,  nor  its  source  appreciated,  will  then  be 
recognized  as  imparted  by  him,  and  he  will  be 
honored  as  the  medium  of  these  visions  of  loveli- 
ness, and  the  gracious  dispenser  of  every  joyous 
thought  and  emotion.  That  thirst  for  knowledge, 
there  gratified  to  fulness  ;  those  sources  of  thought, 
so  ample,  and  various;  and  that  reality  and  cer- 
titude of  truth,  which  leaves  no  jDhantoms  to  be 
dissipated,  and  no  probabilities  to  unsettle  or  per- 
plex the  mind,  are  radiations  from  him  who  is  the 
"  light  of  the  world,"  and  streams  from  that  ocean 
of  God's  unsearchable  wisdom  and  knowledge.    If 


292  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

their  affections  are  exalted  and  exalting,  they  are 
all  in  view  of  his  imperishable  truth,  and  excited 
and  sustained  by  manifestations  of  his  glory.  And 
their  acts  of  duty,  whatever  they  may  be,  and 
wherever  they  may  be  required,  are  not  less  cheer- 
ful and  happy  than  they  are  uniform  and  constant, 
because  they  are  swift  to  do  his  will,  "  hearkening 
to  the  voice  of  his  word." 

The  permanency  of  heaven  is  also  the  work  of 
Christ.  He  is  the  everlasting  Rewarder.  Those 
fields  of  light  will  be  illumined  with  a  splendor 
that  never  fades,  because  he  "  is  the  same,  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  forever."  When  this  earth  has 
disappeared  in  the  final  conflagration,  it  will  be 
Seen  that  there  is  yet  remaining  "  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  The  highest 
eminence  hitherto  occupied  by  Moses  and  Paul,  is 
low  compared  with  those  sublime  heights  which 
they,  and  all  the  redeemed  will  occupy  in  the  yet 
unexplored  sources  of  blessedness  that  are  treas- 
ured up  in  Christ.  They  will  always  have  Christ, 
and  therefore  will  always  have  heaven.  They  will 
be  everlasting  recipients,  because  he  is  the  ever- 
lasting Giver.  There  is  no  present  joy  which 
Christ  does  not  bestow ;  nor  is  there  any  such  last 
lin.it  to  the  believer's  everlasting  career  of  blessed- 
ness, that  he  can  say,  this  is  all  that  Christ  can 
give. 

We  say  therefore  that  Christ  is  the  glory  of 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  293 

heaven,  because  lie  is  the  dispenser  of  all  its  bles- 
sedness. Suppose  a  man  like  ourselves,  to  be  so 
eminently  favored  of  God  as  to  be  the  author  of 
all  temporal  blessings ;  the  fabricator  of  all  that  is 
wise  and  good  in  human  institutions  and  laws — 
the  inventor  of  all  that  contributes  to  w^ealth  and 
prosperity — the  example  and  patron  of  every  vir- 
tue, and  the  promoter,  and  guardian,  and  partaker 
of  every  joy ;  who  so  fitly  as  such  a  man  would  be 
the  glory  of  his  race  ?  What  then  must  Christ 
himself  be  to  the  heavenly  world  !  We  know  the 
comparison  fails.  All  comparisons  are  like  atoms 
in  the  sunbeams,  when  we  think  of  him  whose  in- 
finite glory  and  blessedness  are  reflected  in  the 
natures  of  the  saved. 

We  may  derive  a  third  illustration  of  this  truth 
from  the  fact  that  Christ  is  the  most  happy  of  all 
tJie  glorified  inhabitants  of  heaven  itself.  It  is  no 
ordinary  source  of  enjoyment,  to  see  those  happy 
whom  we  love ;  to  virtuous  and  disinterested 
minds,  there  is  no  higher  source  of  earthly  joy 
than  this.  More  especially  are  such  sacred  and 
delightful  sympathies  realized,  when  these  joys 
are  virtuous  and  holy,  and  the  sources  of  them 
such  as  God  approves.  We  cannot  conceive  of  the 
blessedness  of  heaven,  even  in  the  meanest  of  the 
saints ;  much  less  in  the  brightest  and  most  favored 
spirit  that  bows  before  the  throne.  It  mitigates 
our  sorrows,  and  makes  us  happy  to  think  of  their 


294  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

happiness,  and  that  though  they  once  toiled  and 
suffered  on  the  earth,  they  are  gone  to  their  heav- 
enly rest.  And  how  much  more  to  think  of  the 
infinite  blessedness  of  the  Son  of  God  !  He  is  the 
most  happy  Being  in  heaven,  because  from  the 
infinite  perfection  of  his  intellectual  and  moral 
nature,  he  is  the  most  capable  of  happiness.  Of 
all  the  bright  minds  in  the  universe,  his  is  the 
most  bright  and  holy,  and  can  hold  more  joyous 
thoughts  and  emotions.  And  if  it  is  "  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive ;"  we  may  never  forget  he 
is  the  greatest  of  all  Givers.  Just  think  of  his 
benevolent  and  generous  mind  surveying  that 
Holy  City,  infinitely  more  resplendent  with  the 
memorials  of  his  redeeming  love  than  with  the 
precious  stones  which  garnish  its  walls,  and  its 
gates  of  pearl,  and  its  streets  of  gold ;  and  then,  if 
you  can,  estimate  the  blessedness  which  flows  in 
upon  his  holy  soul  from  these  unnumbered  and 
hallowed  sources.  What  joy  in  being  able  to 
make  such  gifts  to  millions  who  were  so  uuAvorthy 
and  ill-deserving,  so  poor  and  miserable,  and  who, 
but  for  his  bounty,  had  "  lifted  up  their  eyes  in 
hell,  being  in  torment !"  To  have  saved  such  as 
these  is  his  everlasting  blessedness  ;  and  in  bestow- 
ing this  salvation  he  himself  enjoys  more  than 
those  who  receive  it.  Just  before  he  left  the 
world  he  uttered  the  prayer.  "  Father,  /  ivill 
that  they  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me 


i 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  295 

where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  even 
the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world 
was  !"  Heaven  would  scarcely  be  welcome  to  him 
without  tliem.  "  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that 
we  may  all  be  made  perfect  in  One  !"  Everything 
contributes  to  his  joy,  now  that  he  is  glorified,  and 
they  are  all  glorified  with  him.  He  has  finished 
his  work  on  the  earth  ;  his  redeemed  are  gathered 
in ;  and  he  has  nothing  more  to  ask  as  his  reward. 
Every  accession  to  their  blessedness  exalts  his  own. 
His  iufinite  love  has  been  indulged,  expressed,  and 
gratified. 

It  is  this,  his  own  divine  blessedness  that  fills 
up  the  glory  of  heaven.  The  Redeemed  them- 
selves have  no  higher  joy  than  to  see  their  ador- 
able Lord  thus  glorified  and  happy.  Some  of  them 
had  seen  him  a  man  of  sorrows,  debased  and  mise- 
rable, and  all  of  them  have  known  how  he  was 
once  nailed  to  the  cross.  But  the  scene  is  changed. 
From  insult  and  torture  he  has  found  a  throne ; 
from  being  once  the  greatest  Suflerer,  he  is  now 
the  most  honored  and  the  most  happy  of  all  who 
dwell  in  that  honored  and  joyous  world.  He  once 
said  to  his  disciples,  "  If  ye  love  me,  ye  will  rejoice 
because  I  said,  I  go  to  the  Fatliery  Blessed  Mas- 
ter! who,  of  all  thy  followers  does  not  rejoice  in 
the  thought,  that  thy  last  tear  was  shed  on  Calva- 
ry, and  the  last  badge  of  thine  undeserved  infamy 
was  left  in  the  tomb  !     Sweet  is  the  thought,  that 


y 


296  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

among  all  the  lovely,  lie  is  the  adornment  of  their 
loveliness ;  and  of  all  the  honored  and  happy,  he 
is  the  most  happy  and  the  most  honored.  If  we 
are  ever  permitted  to  have  a  place  in  some  of 
those  many  mansions,  the  first  Person  we  shall 
ask  for  will  be,  not  the  children  whom  God  has 
given  us,  nor  the  friends  we  most  loved,  but  "  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain."  He  will  be  the  first  and 
great  object  of  attraction,  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  his  own  heaven,  restored  to  that  habitation  of 
holiness,  of  which  his  own  blessedness  constitutes 
the  glory  and  crown.  What  will  it  be  to  be  per- 
mitted thus  to  enter  into  his  joy,  and  ourselves  to 
exemplify  the  truth,  "  The  glory  which  thou  liast 
given  me  I  have  given  them!'''' 

There  is  one  more  thought  which  illustrates  the 
truth,  that  Christ  himself  is  the  glory  of  heaven ; 
he  is  the  object  of  their  adoration  and  praise. 
Christ  alone,  as  the  Mediator,  is  not  indeed  the 
only  object  of  celestial  praise.  The  Eternal  God- 
head is  there  honored  by  the  adoring  and  ever- 
lasting acknowledgments  of  all  the  unfallen,  as 
well  as  all  the  redeemed  creation.  "  They  rest 
not  day  and  night,  saying  Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord 
God  Almighty.,  which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come !" 
Spotless  angels  give  "  glory,  and  honor,  and  thanks 
to  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  who  liveth 
forever  and  forever."  The  redeemed  from  among 
men  "  fall  down  before  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 


CHEftST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  297 

throne,  and  worship  Him  that  liveth  forever  and 
ever;  and  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne, 
saying.  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory, 
and  honor,  and  power :  for  thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  do  exist,  and 
were  created."  A  beautiful  view  is  this  of  the 
heavenly  world,  that  the  Great  and  Eternal  Jeho- 
vah, in  all  the  fulness  of  his  infinite  glory,  is  thus 
exalted  by  these  grateful  and  adoring  acts  of 
praise. 

Yet  is  it  revealed  to  us  that  the  God-man  Me- 
diator is,  to  redeemed  men,  the  object  of  special 
adoration.  He  sustains  a  relation  to  them  which 
he  does  not  sustain  toward  the  unfallen.  It  was 
not  the  angelic  nature  that  he  assumed,  nor  was 
it  for  them  that  he  suffered  and  died,  rose  from 
the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven;  lives  and 
reigns,  nor  is  it  by  virtue  of  anything  he  has  ac- 
complished for  them,  that  he  becomes  the  Final 
Judge  and  Rewarder  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 
It  was  the  human  nature  to  which  he  became 
allied ;  it  was  that  nature,  in  the  persons  of  his 
redeemed,  that  he  bought  off  from  the  curse  of  the 
law;  rose  for  their  justification;  became  the  dis- 
penser of  those  gracious  influences  by  which  they 
were  fitted  for  heaven ;  and  "  raised  them  from  the 
dead,  and  set  them  at  his  own  right  hand  in  heav- 
enly places."  He  feels  an  interest  in  tJiem^  therefore, 
which  he  does  not  feel  for  the  unfallen.    If  "  there 

13* 


298  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

is  joy  in  heaven  among  the  angels  of  God  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth^  more  than  over  ninety 
and  nine  just  persons  who  need  no  repentance;" 
what  must  be  the  interest  and  the  joy  which  his 
benevolent  mind  experiences  in  repentant  and  re- 
deemed myriads,  above  that  which  he  feels  in  the 
character  and  blessedness  of  those  who  were  never 
the  objects  of  his  mediation,  nor  the  subjects  of 
his  grace  ?  He  is  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  Angels ; 
but  to  his  redeemed  people,  he  is  the  all-sufficient, 
gracious,  faithful,  once  suffering  and  now  glorified 
Redeemer.  They  are  his  people,  his  own  blood- 
bought  inheritance ;  and  can  there  be  a  doubt  that 
they  also  feel  an  interest  in  liiin  Avhich  the  unfallen 
cannot  feel,  and  maintain  a  more  intimate  and 
sensible  relation  to  him  ? 

Since  then  they  have  sources  of  enjoyment  from 
him  and  in  him,  which  angels  cannot  have ;  and 
feel  towards  him  as  angels  cannot  feel ;  and  since 
his  presence  diffuses  joys  over  their  happy  society 
which  angels  can  never  know ;  why  should  they 
not  praise  him  in  strains  which  the  tongue  of 
angels  cannot  utter?  The  Apostle  John,  in  the 
Apocalypse,  beheld  them  as  they  "  fell  down  before 
THE  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps ;  and 
they  sung  a  new  song^  saying.  Thou  art  worthy, 
for  thou  loast  slain^  and  liast  redeemed  us  unto 
God  hy  thy  hlood^  It  is  not  creative  power  and 
persevering  goodness,  but  redeeming  grace  which 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  299 

is  thus  extolled.  The  unfallen  and  unredeemed 
cannot  extol  him  in  accents  such  as  these.  It 
was  "  a  voice  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and 
as  the  voice  of  a  great  thunder;"  it  was  "the 
voice  of  harpers  harj^iug  with  their  harps;  and 
they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before  the  throne, 
and  no  man  could  learn  that  song  hut  those  that 
were  redeemed  from  among  men^ 

Christians  in  the  present  world  often  make  Christ 
the  special  object  of  their  praise.  They  are  at- 
tached to  the  song,  "Worthy  is  the  Land)  that 
was  slain ;"  and  are  never  happier  than  in  those 
favored  moments,  when  anticipating  the  employ- 
ments of  heaven,  their  praise  to  him  is  thus  inti- 
mately incorporated  with  their  devotions.  In  the 
worship  of  heaven  his  Person  and  work  hold  a 
distinguished  place.  No  part  of  the  glory  which 
belongs  to  him  is  there  kept  back,  or  expressed 
with  reserve.  The  great  and  the  gratified  desire 
of  the  redeemed  is  to  exalt  and  glorify  him.  A 
thousand  grateful  recollections  constrain  them  to 
cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet.  The  palms  in  their 
hands,  and  the  pure  robes  they  wear,  are  emblems 
of  his  victories.  "The  glorious  company  of  the 
apostles  praise  him ;  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the 
prophets  praise  him ;  the  noble  army  of  martyrs 
praise  him."  The  redeemed  church  from  every 
kingdom,  and  language  and  tribe  praise  him.  The 
ear  and  tongue  and  soul  of  man  are  formed  for 


300  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

this  celestial  harmony.  A  great  multitude  whicli 
no  man  can  number,  once  mourning  pilgrims,  but 
now  at  the  end  of  their  pilgrimage,  and  clothed 
with  the  garments  of  joy  and  salvation ;  once 
struggling  with  sin,  self,  and  the  world,  but  now 
conquerors  through  him  that  loved  them ;  stand 
on  that  "  sea  of  glass,"  unruffled  as  it  is  by  the 
storms  of  earth,  and  unperturbed  by  the  deep 
agitations  of  time,  and  "  having  the  harps  of  God," 
"  sing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb ;" 
but  the  chorus  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  Praise 
"sweet  as  the  breath  of  love,"  and  deep  as  the 
memory  of  their  woes,  and  loud  as  the  echo  of  his 
fame,  bursts  forth  from  every  tongue.  These  harps 
of  excelling  excellence  are  divinely  strung  for  the 
full  echo  of  his  glory.  We  cannot  think  of  the 
song  of  the  redeemed,  without  thinking  of  Christ. 
Nor  do  these  redeemed  ones  think  of  him  without 
bowing  the  knee  before  him,  and  under  the  im- 
pulse of  emotions  that  are  sometimes  tender  and 
serene,  always  joyous,  and  sometimes  rapturous 
and  vehement,  ascribing  everlasting  glory  to  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain.  What  a  world  is  that  of 
which  Chi-ist  is  thus  the  glory !  What  a  song  is 
that  when  the  full  chorus  of  all  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  from  Adam  down  to  the  last- 
redeemed  of  Adam's  race,  gifted  as  they  never 
were  before  with  melodious  hearts  and  melodious 
sounds,  and  with  a  tongue  sweeter  than  angels  use, 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  301 

thus  express  tlieir  sweetest  and  most  devout  affec- 
tions and  transporting  joys. 

"  And  to  the  Lamb  all  glory  and  all  praise, 
All  glory  and  all  praise  at  morn,  at  even, 
That  come  and  go  eternally,  and  find 
Us  happy  still,  and  thee  forever  bless'd  ! 
Glory  to  God,  and  to  the  Lamb,  Amen ! 
Thousands  of  thousands,  thousands  infinite 
With  voice  of  boundless  love  answered  Amen  ! 
And  through  eternity,  near  and  remote. 
The  world  adoring  echoed  back  Amen !" 

We  have  thus  endeavored  to  present  some  faint 
illustration  of  the  thought,  that  Clirist  himself  is 
the  glory  of  heaven.  Let  us  weigh  this  thought, 
and  from  it  derive  the  following  j^ractical  remarks : 
In  the  first  place,  let  us  learn  from  it  tvhat  are 
the  essential  preparatives  for  the  heavenly  tvoild. 
They  are  all  comprised  in  that  state  of  mind  which 
cheerfully  gives  Christ  the  throne.  This  is  the 
character  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  and  this  is 
the  test  of  piety  on  the  earth.  Its  measure  and 
degree  are  not  the  same  in  the  church  below,  but 
its  nature  is  the  same  with  the  piety  in  the  church 
above.  Its  humility  and  love  and  gratitude  and 
praise  and  loyalty  are  imperfect  here,  but  they  are 
the  same  in  kind.  Here,  these  heavenly  graces  are 
in  blossom ;  there,  they  are  fully  ripe.  Here  the 
tree  is  scathed  by  storms ;  there,  it  is  in  full 
bearing. 

Let  none  please  themselves  with  the  illusion, 


302  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

that  ■stu'li  a  heaven  has  any  attractions  for  an  un- 
holy niinih  Wicked  men  know  not  what  they  ask 
when,  with  all  their  sinful  propensities  dominant, 
they  ask  for  such  a  heaven  as  this.  They  cannot 
drink  of  the  cup  whicli  the  Saviour  drank  of,  nor  be 
ba])tized  with  the  l)aptisni  with  which  he  was  bap- 
tized. Their  false  views  of  heaven  neutralize  all  their 
efforts.  It  is  not  the  heaven  of  the  Bible  which 
they  are  seeking;  yet  is  there  no  other;  no  other 
heaven  in  the  universe  than  that  of  which  Christ  is 
the  glory,  and  his  presence  the  fountain  of  joy.  How 
fearful  the  disappointment,  when  they  struggle  at 
last  to  go  up  to  that  celestial  city,  and  see  inscribed 
on  its  archway,  "There  shall  nothing  enter  that 
defileth  !"  Could  those  who  are  now  living  in  sin, 
and  estranged  from  Jesus  Christ,  whose  treasure 
is  on  earth,  and  whose  heart  is  there,  to  whom 
the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the 
pride  of  life  furnish  all  their  sources  of  enjoyment, 
see  that  holy  and  glorious  and  blessed  world  as  it 
is,  and  as  angels  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect  behold  it ;  it  would  not  be  surprising  if 
they  should  become  strongly  conscious  that  such 
a  heaven  has  no  attractions  for  their  unholy  minds. 
No,  no ;  such  a  heaven  is  no  place  for  an  ungodly 
man.  He  has  no  sympathies  either  with  its  society 
its  employments,  its  laws,  its  blessedness,  or  its 
great  and  glorious  King.  All  who  enter  heaven 
desire  and  pursue  that  which  constitutes  its  bles- 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  303 

sedness.  "  It  is  character  that  makes  heaven  ;  it 
is  spiritual  enjoyment  that  makes  heaven  ;  it  is  the 
presence  and  blessing  of  God  that  make  heaven." 
It  is  Christ  that  makes  heaven.  To  him  who  loves 
not,  trusts  not,  obeys  not,  honors  not  Jesus  Chi-ist, 
such  a  heaven  as  this  has  no  allurements.  Ho 
must  be  a  different  man  from  what  he  is,  ever  to 
be  happy  in  such  a  heaven.  Well  did  the  Saviour 
utter  the  words,  "  Veiily,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  How  is  it  possible  for  one  who 
"  loves  darkness  rather  than  light,"  to  be  happy 
in  a  world  which  is  thus  filled  with  Christ's  glory, 
and  which  he  thus  irradiates  as  with  ten  thousand 
suns  ?  It  is  not  heaven's  spaciousness  and  splendor, 
nor  its  salubrious  streams  and  healthful  clime,  nor 
yet  its  everlasting  day  and  blooming  immortality 
that  can  commend  it  to  the  moral  temper  and  dis- 
position of  the  soul  that  does  not  love  Jesus  Christ. 
Not  until  Christ  himself  retires  from  that  glorious 
woi'ld,  will  it  be  a  fitting  residence  for  an  ungodly 
man..  Quench  its  flame  of  holy  love;  dry  up  its 
fountains  of  holy  joy  ;  silence  its  song  to  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain  ;  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  it  have 
charms  for  a  mind  that  is  "  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins."  The  heaven  where  Jesus  is,  none  can  enjoy 
but  the  friends  of  Jesus.  "The  pure  in  heart  shall 
see  God." 

In  .  the    next    place,    how   strongly   does    the 


304  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

thought  that  Christ  hhuself  is  the  glory  of  heav- 
en urge  upon  the  people  of  God  a  more  heavenly 
mind  and  more  hea^^enly  anticipations.  True 
followers  of  Christ  love  to  think  of  heaven.  It 
is  a  heaven  of  holiness,  and  where  Christ  is  all 
in  all.  These  are  its  charms,  and  these  the  sweet 
realities  which  give  such  sweetness  to  their  hopes. 
What  marvel  if,  in  their  more  spiritual  frames, 
they  look  toward  these  heavenly  hills  with  eager 
expectation,  and  pant  for  those  abodes  of  spotless 
purity  where  Jesus  dwells,  and  where  their  perfect 
conformity  to  him  constitutes  the  perfection  of 
their  blessedness  ! 

We  would  fain  stimulate  them  to  think  of  it, 
and  with  sweeter  hopes  and  brighter  anticipations. 
How  magnificent  is  that  New  Jerusalem,  where 
the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof!  AVlien  John 
saw  even  a  mighty  angel  come  down  from  heav- 
en, the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory.  How 
brilliant,  then,  and  overpowering  the  light  of 
heaven^  enlightened  as  it  is  by  the  Lord'  of 
angels  !  It  does  not  need  the  sun  nor  the  moon 
to  shine  in  it.  The  reason  why  "the  righteous 
shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their 
Father,  and  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever,"  is  that 
Christ,  the  light  of  heaven,  shines  upon  them  in 
the  effulgence  of  his  glory. 

If  it  is  true  that  our  minds  become  assimilated 
to  the  objects   about  which  they  are  most  em- 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  395 

ployed,  were  it.  not  wise  to  cultivate  more  heav- 
enly thoughts  ?  We  shall  be  the  gainers  by  being 
more  familiar  with  that  holy  and  blessed  world 
in  our  daily  contemplations.  "  Where  your  treas- 
ni'e  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also."  There  is  a 
voice  which  speaks  to  thee,  my  Christian  brother, 
in  sweetest  accents,  "  Arise  thou,  and  depart  hence, 
for  this  is  not  your  rest !"  A  few  more  days  in 
this  distant  land,  and  you  shall  behold  him  whom 
your  soul  loveth,  and  "  be  like  him,  because  you 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Few  things  probably  would  surprise  angels  more, 
than  to  be  informed  how  reluctant  the  friends  of 
Christ  are  to  leave  this  world  and  go  to  their 
heavenly  Father's  house.  The  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  address  those  to  whom  they  wrote  as 
though  they  knew  they  were  Christians.  They 
lived  in  an  age  of  trial,  and  the  apostles  every- 
where spoke  to  them  and  of  them  as  though  they 
knew  there  was  but  a  short  distance  between  them 
and  their  unearthly  home.  And  why  have  not 
Christians  at  the  present  day  the  same  unembar- 
rassed confidence  ?  Why  is  it  that  you  have  any 
latent  doubts  of  that  "  faithful  saying,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  ?"  Turn 
back  to  the  facts  which  have  been  demonstrated 
in  the  preceding  pages,  and  inquire  if  there  is  not 
enough  in  these  heavenly  credentials  of  Mary's 
Son  to  warrant  an  assured  faith.     Not  a  few  of 


306  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

your  strongest  hopes  rest  on  dreams ;  but  there  is 
no  illusion  in  these  great  realities.  It  is  not  one 
fact  alone,  but  many  facts,  all  bound  together ; 
there  is  a  piling  up  of  truth  upon  truth,  none  of 
them  disjointed,  but  all  of  them  compact  and  each 
in  its  place ;  all  combining  to  silence  the  tempter 
and  banish  doul)t.  Again  I  ask,  why  is  it  that 
your  ftiith  in  these  great  realities  is  not  moi-e  tran- 
quil and  confident  ?  Is  it  that  you  fear  to  die  ?  Is 
it  that  you  reluctate  from  breaking  up  these  earthly 
associations  and  enter  that  unseen  world  ?  Why 
should  you  fear  to  die  when  you  see  how  death 
has  been  robbed  of  his  sting?  You  need  not 
anticipate  darkness  because  you  are  approaching 
the  regions  of  the  departed.  You  will  be  cared 
for  as  you  go  down  into  the  dark  valley,  and  your 
flesh  shall  rest  in  hope.  Why  not  a  more  cheer- 
ing and  brighter  view  than  this  ?  Why  should 
you  wish  to  be  still  a  foreigner  and  an  exile 
from  that  heaven  of  which  your  Saviour  is  the 
glory?  What  have  you  found  in  this  sinning, 
suffering  w^orld  to  detain  you  wdien  the  summons 
comes  ?  Why  cling  to  the  ashes  of  this  burn- 
ing earth,  when  the  New  Jerusalem  is  unfolding 
its  gates,  and  angels  bid  you  enter  in  ?  Why 
clank  these  fetters  and  bear  this  load  when  heaven's 
messenger  comes  to  set  you  free?  What  more 
have  you  to  do  with  these  dark  and  cloudy  habi- 
tations of  wretchedness,  when  he  who  sitteth  on 


CHRIST  HIMSELF  THE  GLORY  OF  HEAVEN.  307 

the  throne,  and  hath  made  you  kings  and  priests 
unto  God,  commands  you  to  come  away  ?  O  that 
we  lived  more  with  our  eyes  and  hearts  on  Christ 
and  heaven ! 

In  the  third  and  last  place,  these  thoughts 
admonish  all  to  labor  into  that  heavenly  rest.  We 
do  not  forget  that  this  is  the  closing  chapter  in  our 
series.  We  do  not  know  w^hat  good  has  been  done 
by  this  series  of  thoughts,  nor  whether  one  soul 
has,  through  these  humble  means,  been  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  the  hope  of  that 
heaven  of  which  he  is  the  glory.  I  am  the  more 
earnest  therefore  in  urging  you  to  strive  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate — labor  to  enter  "  that  rest, 
lest  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short  of  it." 
What  a  loss  does  he  sustain  who  loses  heaven !  O 
there  is  no  loss  within  the  range  of  human  thought 
like  this.  Nor  can  it  ever  be  repaired.  I  have 
known  those  who  were  burdened  to  despondency, 
and  miserable  almost  to  distraction,  because  they 
could  not  obtain  even  to  a  comfortable  hope  of 
heaven.  And  if  to  be  denied  the  mere  hope  is  to 
be  denied  all  that  can  cheer  the  mind  in  its  earthly 
pilgrimage ;  w^hat  must  the  agony  be  when  the 
loss  is  realized,  and  the  despondency  become  de- 
spair !  To  go  up  to  the  gates  of  the  Heavenly 
City  and  find  them  shut;  to  see  the  multitudes 
coming  from  the  north,  and  the  south,  and  the  east, 
and  the  west,  and   sitting  down  with  i)ati-iarchs 


312  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST. 

and  prophets,  and  Jesus  himself  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  you  yourself  cast  out ;  what  a  fearful 
and  mournful  overthrow  is  this ! 

O  that  in  that  day  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
be  revealed,  it  may  ])e  seen  that  these  truths  hav< 
not  been  without  some  hallowed  influence  upon 
the  reader  and  the  writer  of  this  volume.  Ther3 
may  he  have  some  humble  place,  and  some  harp 
of  gold ;  and  there  may  they  join  in  the  sweet  and 
everlasting  song,  "To  Hm  that  loved  us,  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  l)e  do- 
minion, and  pi-aise,  and  thanksgiving  forever!" 


THE    END. 


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